Lost Heart
by quicksilversquared
Summary: Magic can be a dangerous thing to play around with, particularly when that magic is tangled up in a curse. When Nathalie Sancoeur experiments with magic that she doesn't fully understand, it sends her on a path to become Paris' most dangerous supervillain and tips the balance between superheroes and supervillain. But which way will the balance fall?
1. Nathalie: Part 1

_a/n: This story has canon divergence (mostly because some stuff happened in S3 episodes after I started writing the story that then made it non-canon #whoops), so if anything DOESN'T fit with canon, that's why. I've been playing with this idea for FOREVER, so I really, really hope that I did it justice!_

_Enjoy!_

* * *

Nathalie had not _planned_ on becoming a supervillain at any point in her life.

It wasn't in her twelve-point life plan, nor on her bulletpoint list of things she wanted to do before she died. She didn't have _I want to be a supervillain_ written down as something she wanted to do in any of the daily planner-style journals that she had kept, starting as a child and continuing on through her teenage years, or on any of the career-planning sheets that she had filled out over the years. It wasn't even included in a footnote.

No, becoming a supervillain was a complete deviation from the plan, one that _could_ land her in serious trouble and completely derail her life plans if she were ever caught. But Gabriel Agreste seemed sure that they wouldn't get caught, and it wasn't as though she was ever actually venturing out into the open to fight. Instead, on the rare occasions that she donned the Peacock Miraculous and joined Gabriel, they were up in the lair, hidden from the rest of the world and protected by the best home defense system that money could buy.

If she actually had to venture out and face the superheroes head-on, Nathalie didn't think she could do it. It wasn't so much the fighting that bothered her- she _did_ have a purple belt in karate, after all, even if she hadn't actually practiced it at all for a couple years- but rather the possibility of being overpowered and losing her Miraculous, which would then lead to jail time at the _very_ least. _That_ was what would frighten her.

It wasn't as though being a supervillain came without consequences already, even _without_ her getting caught. It took away time from her workday, of course, which meant that she wasn't _quite_ as on top of things as normal, and then there were the effects of the curse on the Peacock Miraculous: the illness, the sickness, the weakness, _whatever_ you wanted to call it.

The awful, _awful_ weakness. It forced Nathalie to take several hours off to recover each time she used the cursed Miraculous. The curse also meant that she couldn't use it more than once a week at the _very _most. Nathalie _hated_ both the feeling of weakness and the restrictions that the curse imposed on her, but it was the price that she had to pay for helping Gabriel.

And, more importantly, for helping Emilie. Emilie, who had been dropped into a magical _coma_ while using the same miraculous that Nathalie was using now. It was a dire warning for what might happen if Nathalie over-used the Miraculous in an attempt to help sway the outcome of an akuma attack before she was ready to transform again. She had seen Emilie's bouts of weakness after transforming, and how they had gotten gradually worse over time. Emilie had been at least a little tired all the time near the end, even if she _had_ managed to hide most of it from Adrien and Gabriel.

Nathalie didn't want to end up like that, applying makeup constantly to cover up pale cheeks and dark shadows under her eyes. So she was picky about which akumas she decided to help with, waiting until it was obvious that an akuma would actually be a difficult opponent for Ladybug and Chat Noir before she transformed and sent in another helper.

Over the course of the past month and a half of helping Gabriel, Nathalie had come to the realization that he did _not_ make a lot of good akumas. Most of them were dispatched by the superheroes easily enough, some even under the span of ten minutes. Most had fairly pointless superpowers, ones that didn't even deter Ladybug and Chat Noir. Some had been repeated so many times with no changes that everyone in Paris knew how things were going to play out. It made the job of choosing which akuma villains to accompany _much_ easier, but _really_. It was _not_ impressive.

Sometimes Nathalie wondered if Gabriel was even _trying_. Surely he would have discovered something _different_ to try by now, some improvement that would get him consistently better akumas. Nathalie was pretty sure that if _she_ were in Gabriel's shoes, she would have already tried a variety of different techniques and found _some_ way of improving the process. Still, it wasn't her place to say that.

So she continued her job as normal, waiting patiently for an opportunity to help as Mayura, the city's newest permanent supervillain. It was for the greater good, she told herself. All Gabriel wanted was his wife back, and getting _that_ wouldn't hurt anyone. All it would be was a little alteration to the timeline, a tiny nudge that would make all the difference for the family.

Nathalie hoped that one day, that excuse would actually ring entirely true to her, too.

* * *

The sound of the front door opening and the unmistakable pattern of Adrien's footsteps entering the atrium startled Nathalie out of her stupor as she stared blankly at the pile of contracts that she was meant to be reading through. She frowned in confusion- wasn't Adrien meant to still be at school?- before checking the clock and startling when she saw what it said.

_Aha_. Apparently she had just _really_ lost track of time, which was generally unusual but in this case it was understandable, really. There had been a strong akuma earlier that afternoon, and she had ended up getting involved. It was _so_ hard to figure how much time had passed when she was transformed and involved in a battle- there were more important things to pay attention to, after all- and once it was over, she was too utterly drained to pay attention to what time it was.

Or ever to pay attention to the contracts that she normally breezed through with ease.

The footsteps reminded her that here had been something that Nathalie had been meant to do when Adrien got home, and for a second she wracked her brain, trying to remember what it was. After _far_ too long- her mind wasn't _meant_ to work this slowly, it felt rather like trying to think after pulling an all-nighter and then staying up for the entire day- she remembered and got up as quickly as she could, reaching for her tablet across the desk and nearly losing her balance in the process.

Ah, yes, that was right. Adrien had had a makeup photoshoot scheduled after it turned out that a number of pictures from a previous shoot had turned out unusable- not his fault so much as his fans', since several of them had evidently felt the need to crowd in enough that the photographer hadn't been able to avoid them. She needed to let him know right away, because he would have to have a light snack and get started on his homework before the shoot.

"Adrien!" Nathalie called as she stepped into the atrium, her voice (and legs) a little less steady than normal, and she frowned to herself and cleared her throat before trying again. "Adrien! One moment, please. There's been a change to your schedule!"

She could see Adrien's shoulders slump as he came to a stop at the top of the stairs and turned back to face her. When he did, though, he frowned. "Nathalie? Are you feeling all right?"

"I didn't get quite enough sleep last night, that's all," Nathalie said dismissively, waving the hand not holding the tablet. Adrien's frown deepened at that, and Nathalie tried not to wince at the terrible, _terrible_ excuse she had come up with. People didn't usually stumble over their own feet and look like they were on the verge of falling over just because they hadn't slept as well as usual the previous night. She needed to work on her excuses, especially as she would probably have to be using them on a frequent basis. Perhaps she would have to think up an illness to blame for her occasional weaknesses. That would be something to research once she got a little more caught up on her work, which… well, it wasn't happening today. "And I'm perhaps a little peckish. But I'll be fine, I'll just have to have a small snack. But that's not what I wanted to let you know- you have an emergency photoshoot this evening, so the chef has prepared a snack for you in the dining room and then you'll need to get started on your homework. They've estimated the shoot will take between two and two and a half hours."

The drop in Adrien's expression at the news was almost entirely hidden, but he nodded anyway. "Okay. Thank you, Nathalie."

"I'll come fetch you when it's time," Nathalie promised, hoping that she would have improved by then. If she stumbled in front of Adrien again or showed any sign of having trouble with the stairs, he would be popping into the office unexpectedly all the time to check in on her. Any other time it would be sweet, but Nathalie knew that if Adrien found out about his father's supervillain activities, he would be heartbroken. She couldn't let that happen. "You have two hours before departure."

"Thank you, Nathalie."

Nathalie nodded and headed back into the office as steadily as she could, wobbling dangerously as soon as she was out of Adrien's sight. Gabriel was by her side in a second, steadying her and closing the door behind her.

"You shouldn't have come out today," he told her with a frown as he walked her back to her desk. "It was too soon after last time, I can tell. You needed a week and a half's recovery at the very least, if you're going to insist on transforming."

"It was too good of an akuma to pass up on." Nathalie welcomed the relief of settling back into her chair. It was easier to focus on keeping up appearances when she wasn't busy focusing all of her energy into trying _not_ to fall over. "Emilie never was this ill at the start, I thought."

"The threat she faced came less often. She had plenty of time to recover between transformations." Gabriel made sure that she was settled before withdrawing to a respectable distance. "At least until the effects started building up too much. But that was after _years_ of use."

Nathalie nodded, trying to keep her eyes from drifting closed as she sat back. She only vaguely remembered the threat that Emilie had rallied against, something about a tear between dimensions that had to be fought back. It was a hazy memory- or a hazy _set_ of memories, really, blurred by the set of the Peacock's powers that Emilie had used to keep Paris from being consumed by paranoia. She suspected that she only remembered anything at all because she was close to the family and- if her memory served her correctly- she had been the one to accept the feather during each of Emilie's fights, giving shape to the Peacock's Protector so it could fight evil.

How ironic that now, she and Gabriel were being the bad guys. At least, they were the bad guys in the eyes of Paris.

"And I think she had found some way to lessen the effects from the transformation, but she never told me what it was," Gabriel continued with a frown. "That was- that was why she pushed too far. She thought that she had found a solution to the problem, and she was overconfident and used too much power to force a final solution to the fight."

Nathalie hadn't known that. She had just thought that Emilie had recognized her gradual deterioration and had decided that she needed to end the threat for good before she couldn't continue at all. And she _had_ managed that, at least, but the cost had been so high.

Adrien hadn't even known for the first couple days. Gabriel had kept himself shut up in the office as he tried to find any sort of immediate solution, and Nathalie had kept running Adrien's lessons as usual, shuffling the tutors in and out on schedule. It was only once Gabriel had determined that there would be no immediate solution and Adrien was asking too many questions about where his parents were that he had been told.

"Take two weeks _minimum_ before transforming again," Gabriel ordered. "You need to recover fully so that the effects don't start adding up more than usual."

"Of course, sir."

"And I'll fetch Adrien when it's time for his photoshoot. You stay here and rest."

Nathalie smiled. _That_ was a relief. She would recover a large bit of her energy in the time between now and when Adrien needed to be called down, but right now she was pretty sure that she wouldn't be able to hide how shaky she was on the stairs. "Thank you."

They went back to work, Nathalie sipping at the hot tea that the chef had brought up for her. Her focus wasn't entirely there, she could tell, so she focused on the easier paperwork that she could do in her sleep.

If she made a huge mistake on some important paperwork and cost the company a lot of money because she was feeling the effects of becoming a supervillain, Nathalie would never be able to live with herself.

A light _ding_ from her tablet pulled her out of her work a while later, and Nathalie glanced over at it. A small alert had popped up. "It's time for Adrien to go."

Gabriel sighed and got up. "Yes, of course. I'll go alert him."

Nathalie flashed him a grateful smile as she went back to work. Two minutes later, she was interrupted again by a quietly seething Gabriel.

"He was wasting time on the _Ladyblog_," Gabriel practically snarled as he shut the door again and stalked back to his desk. "Staring all gooey-eyed at some picture of _Ladybug_."

Nathalie only winced. She had known about Adrien's hero crush on Ladybug before and hadn't mentioned it to Gabriel because she knew that he would react badly. In her opinion, though, Gabriel was overreacting just a bit. It really should have been _expected_ that Adrien might look up to the superheroes, as most of the city did. He had no idea that the superheroes were keeping him from getting his mom back. It was all harmless.

Besides, if nothing else, knowing that there was no way that Adrien's adoration of Ladybug would actually _get_ anywhere should take the sting out of the discovery that Adrien liked his father's arch-enemy.

"I should block it," Gabriel muttered, still scowling. "Then he wouldn't waste his time staring at pictures of Ladybug."

"That might appear a bit suspicious, sir," Nathalie reminded him. "Besides, you use the Ladyblog, too, and Adrien could always access the site on his phone."

Gabriel's scowl grew deeper and he muttered something under his breath before getting back to work.

Nathalie tried not to sigh as she went back to work, she really did. Gabriel might have always said that his wife was dramatic, but honestly?

He was just as bad.

* * *

Adrien had caught on to her exhaustion. Nathalie _had_ to be more careful, or else he might get curious about her mysterious illness and end up finding out more than he was meant to.

The day after Adrien had seen her at her weakest, she found a box of tea that promised to help with sleep sitting on her desk. Three days after, she found a large bag of peppermints tucked in her bag. Adrien was giving her nervous glances whenever she wasn't _completely_ on top of things like normal, and it was unnerving.

Nathalie was glad that Gabriel had put a ban on transforming for two weeks. With the chance to recover fully- well, to recover as much as she could with her connection to the Peacock still under a curse- she shouldn't be as affected by her next transformation. And if she let Gabriel deal with any interactions with Adrien right after her future transformations so that she could hide the weakness, like Emilie had, then Adrien would hopefully forget that he had seen anything odd.

Still, it was infuriating to be sidelined after they had seemed to be making some decent progress. If she had been able to use the Miraculous properly- if the curse had dissipated after Emilie fell into a coma, or if she weren't so _freaking_ affected by the curse, more so that Emilie had been after any individual transformation - then they could have used the extra powers in _every _fight, pushing hard and taking advantage of the surprise that the extra player caused before Ladybug and Chat Noir figured out how to quickly and effectively dispose of or work around the extra threat.

If they could have gotten one of the other Miraculous- the turtle, fox, or bee- during the fight on Heroes Day (or, admittedly, during _any other fight_), then she could have used that and the Peacock would be held back as backup, an unpleasant surprise for the superheroes some day. Of course, that would have required that Nathalie get her hands dirty and actually go out to join the fight herself- which was less than ideal- but feeling ill to the point of collapse was even _less_ ideal, so she would have dealt with the danger that came with going outside.

Nathalie felt better every day of her transformation ban, and she was surprised to realize just how bad the Miraculous had been making her feel. Still, she knew that she would have to use it again, if she wanted to end this fight as soon as she could.

She would just have to be pickier about which battles she helped with going forward.

"I wish we had gotten farther with decoding the book and the scrolls," Gabriel commented one afternoon as he set aside his work to look at the Miraculous book. "If there had been anything in there about breaking curses, or at the very least getting around them…"

"Would Emilie have had notes anywhere about what she had done?" Nathalie asked. "Or if you saw _anything_…"

"I always assumed that she had figured out some spell that was wearing down the curse," Gabriel admitted. "And then I looked through the notes of hers that I could find after- well, you know- and there was _nothing _about that." He scowled. "I know that she was meant to keep her superhero life as secret as possible, but _still_. Having notes _somewhere _would have been useful. She knew that things were going downhill, even if she wasn't letting on to anyone else."

Nathalie could only nod, her last hope for alleviating the symptoms from using the Peacock fading. If it _had_ been a spell, there was no hope that they would stumble on the answer just by chance.

And Emilie had been using and studying the Peacock for _years_. They didn't have that time.

"I'll keep looking, though," Gabriel promised. "Though I can't let myself fall behind on Fashion Week. Can you add a- hmm. Maybe an hour of research time each day to my schedule for this week, then dropping down to half an hour for the remaining weeks running up to the runway?"

Nathalie snagged a pencil and paper and wrote that down on her to-do list. "Right away, sir."

It was interesting how little Nathalie joining Gabriel as a supervillain changed their day-to-day dynamic. Perhaps it was because she had known about him being Hawkmoth and had helped him keep that secret from Adrien and the rest of the household staff from the start. She had been a supervillain's assistant before, but now she was just a supervillain's assistant who had superpowers (occasionally) herself. But even though she was helping on more equal footing- even though she had actually _saved_ Gabriel from losing his Miraculous on Heroes Day- they had continued on the same way. He never asked for her advice on how they could mix things up and trip up the superheroes.

Nathalie was starting to consider writing up a twelve-point plan in PowerPoint format to present to Gabriel, just to get the conversation started. Of course, he would need to share more information about the Miraculous with her- Nathalie _knew_ that there was a lot that he was keeping to himself, things that could be utilized in their plan if she just _knew_ about it- before she could make an effective plan.

Mid-afternoon, Gabriel got up without a word and headed up to the lair to transform. Nathalie flipped on the intercom that she had just installed up there- she had spent an entire afternoon trying to figure out how to get that set up and ensure that none of the other intercom systems in the house would accidentally pick up any communications from what she had (privately) dubbed the 'Supervillain Intercom'- and pulled up several tabs to track the akuma attack.

All out of habit, of course. She wasn't ready to transform again, not yet.

Seven minutes later, Nathalie's feeds lit up with news of a dish-flinging akuma on the opposite side of Paris. Judging by the craters that it was making in the buildings, streets, and the unfortunate cars that the dishes hit, they carried a _lot_ more force than anyone would initially think. People fled, most of them making it on time.

Some didn't. Nathalie cringed away, trying not to look _too_ closely at the images on-screen.

If Gabriel lost, Ladybug would fix it. If Gabriel won, the change to the timeline would completely erase the need for any Hawkmoth or akumas, so they would be just fine.

That didn't mean that she wanted to _see_ it. Maybe that made her soft and not fit for supervillainry, but that was why she liked the Miraculous that Gabriel had. They were long distance and didn't force her to get her hands dirty during the attacks.

She went back to work, occasionally glancing up at the feeds. All of the reporters had retreated to a safe distance, so there wasn't super close coverage of the fight. There were occasional flashes of home video, taken by people inside of their homes.

The akuma was getting closer to Adrien's school.

Nathalie reached over to her new intercom and pressed the button "Sir, the akuma is getting close to the school."

"It won't go inside," Hawkmoth replied almost immediately. "And the students will retreat into the hallways if the classrooms are too dangerous."

Nathalie scowled. _Still_. It wasn't _safe._

After several minutes of being gone, Ladybug and Chat Noir plunged back into the fray, recharged and ready to fight. Five minutes later, the akuma was defeated. Nathalie sighed in relief- a _very_ large chunk of school building had crumbled in the fight- and went back to work.

It had been a good, strong akuma, but it should have taken the fight elsewhere. If they had gotten onto one of the bridges over the Seine, perhaps the fight would have gone better. There would be nowhere for Ladybug and Chat Noir to hide there, and fewer things that Ladybug could use to swing around. If parts of the bridge got destroyed and the superheroes were thrown into the Seine, so be it. They always seemed to be a little disoriented after a dunking, and a decent akuma could take advantage of that.

Maybe….maybe she could start writing up notes like that. That way, if Gabriel ever had the chance to reakumatize those people, he could maybe have a better outcome to the fight. There would be an analysis on what could be done better, tweaks to the design that Gabriel could attempt to put in, maybe some examples of what strengths the akuma had that hadn't been fully exploited.

It was an idea. Something she could do without even transforming, while she was waiting to recover enough to be able to transform again. Maybe it would help them form a plan of attack for the future, if they could ever manipulate the situation so that Gabriel would be able to pick and choose who to akumatize or if someone ever became available again by chance. They could build upon their earlier work, ironing out the wrinkles in the fights and eliminating the slip-ups and flaws that had been the akuma's downfall the first time around. Nathalie already had some ideas, some weaknesses that the superheroes had that could be exploited and strategies that Gabriel had yet to try.

No, being a supervillain hadn't ever been part of Nathalie's plan, and yet here she was. And now that she had started, Nathalie was committed to doing the best job she could. She would be the most efficient supervillain that she could be, and hopefully soon enough the Agreste family would be back together.

Nathalie could only cross her fingers that things would go the way she hoped.

* * *

_a/n: Chapter 1 of 26 finished! At the moment, I have 24 chapters done (and through ch. 10 edited) so as long as I have internet access, I should be able to update regularly (I aim for posting every 6 days, posting subject to amount of time I have and exhaustion from trying to bargain with wild woodpeckers all way #wildlifework)._

_As always, reviews make my day! :)_


	2. Nathalie: Part 2

Nathalie had started transforming again, only once every week and a half in order to keep her from getting quite as ill as she had before. Her folder of reports on potential improvements for the akuma fights was getting larger nearly every day, and she had just shown the reports to Gabriel several days before. He had been pleased by the idea, and had had her file the reports by supervillain name for easy access in case any of them ever came up again.

Nathalie had ordered a new file cabinet to store the reports in, one that had a secure lock that they could use. She did _not_ want any of the _Gabriel_ secretaries coming in to collect a file and accidentally getting into the wrong cabinet.

They weren't getting far. It was frustrating and Gabriel was already getting impatient with the lack of improvement in the battles, but Nathalie knew that it would take time. There hadn't been any chances to re-akumatize the targets that she had made reports for, even though she had started going back to akumas that had happened a while back in order to widen their database.

Also not surprising. Not every upset person was akumatizeable. While an upset person could attract an akuma that was already out, their feelings wouldn't trip the Miraculous unless they fit certain requirements. That was why there weren't akumas every day, even though Paris was huge and was filled to the brim with people who were upset about something or other.

That, and Nooroo needed to rest and recharge. Even with Gabriel's power-ups, Nooroo could only stay transformed for so long, and once he was released from an extended transformation he couldn't transform again right away, not without a serious decrease in power.

"Nathalie, what do you think about this akuma?" Gabriel's voice crackled through the intercom, and Nathalie looked up from the latest _Gabriel_ sales report. "Good enough for a hand- or should I say a feather?"

Nathalie pulled up the akuma feed again. She had kind of tuned it out, to be honest. This sales report was something that Gabriel was meant to be looking at, and she was trying to keep up with everything.

She was regretting the "team meeting", as Gabriel called it, that they had had the previous day. He refused to call it a _supervillain_ team meeting- after all, he was trying to save Emilie, which was an honorable goal, surely- but that was what it had been, really. It had consisted of several hours of going over the attack reports that she had compiled and trying to identify common themes. The meeting _had_ been at least a little productive- there were, in fact, some areas where Hawkmoth could improve, and they had brainstormed a flow chart of different power-ups that he could give different types of akumas that weren't necessarily specific to certain situations- but it had also taken _quite_ a lot of time out of her day and now she was behind.

Add in the fact that whenever Nathalie _did_ transform, she lost probably an hour to the akuma battle itself, plus another hour or two to poor work due to exhaustion, and she was _not_ staying on top of her _actual_ work. Not even close.

"Nathalie?"

"I- I think I might need another day of recovery," Nathalie said hastily. "It looks like it would be a good akuma, though, if it buckles down and just focuses on fighting the superheroes. Tell him that he needs to get the Miraculous _before_ he thinks about getting revenge. He needs to uphold his side of the bargain first."

Hawkmoth didn't sound impressed. "Of course."

Nathalie winced as she went back to work. She didn't blame Gabriel for not being happy- this akuma _did_ have semi-decent potential- but there would be others, and she did _not_ want to be working late every night for the rest of the week just to keep people from wondering what had happened to the normally on-top-of-everything Nathalie that they all knew. But he had to understand that Nathalie had a normal job, too, and she couldn't just set it to the side to the extent that he had pushed _his_ aside.

Designers could claim to have artist's block, particularly designers who ran their own company. Gabriel had a particularly good excuse, claiming that he had lost inspiration since Emilie went missing. No one would pester him for turning out only a third of the designs he used to do, and he had just hired an extra senior designer to make up for the work that he was no longer doing. Nathalie didn't get to do the same.

If she was just going to lose the one hour from the akuma attack itself, she would have gone, no problem. But it was _never_ just the one hour. It was another hour minimum where she felt too ill to do any quality work, and then an additional several hours where she was doing subpar work. And if she was tracking her work correctly (which she _had_ to be, she had been keeping track for _years_), then her overall productivity had dropped, even if she hadn't just been transformed.

It was an issue. That made it all the more critical that they succeeded, sooner rather than later.

An hour and a half later, Gabriel reappeared briefly, for just enough time to recharge Nooroo. Then he vanished again, this time to the sub-basement lair, where Emilie was.

Nathalie tried not to wince at the thought of what Gabriel might be saying to Emilie. That Nathalie didn't care enough. That he was the only one who still held out hope of bringing Emilie back. That he would succeed, no matter the cost.

Even the thought that Gabriel might think that Nathalie didn't _care_ enough made her wince. She _did_ care. Emilie had given her a second chance when she was a young, angry, _lost_ adult just out of school, at odds with her family, and already running into trouble with the law. She and Gabriel had taken Nathalie in, giving her a part-time job as a secretary in their fledgling company and pointing her towards a degree that would help Nathalie become the most efficient personal assistant-slash-secretary in Paris. They had given her the chance to straighten her life out and become a model citizen.

So Nathalie _had_ to help them now. They were the closest thing that she had to a family, after all.

(How ironic it was, then, that in trying to help the Agrestes now, Nathalie once again found herself on the wrong side of the law, aiding and abetting a supervillain and occasionally becoming one herself. But Gabriel had sworn that once they had the Miraculous, they would change the past and all of her wrongdoings would be wiped away. She just- she had to _believe_ that.)

Sighing, Nathalie glanced over at Emilie's portrait once again. Maybe she should go talk to Gabriel, and see if there was any way that they could hire someone to work under her, but at the company building instead of at the Agreste home. If some of her workload could be lifted, then she would just have to worry about how she felt when transforming instead of being held back by worries about her workload.

Maybe she would mention it to Gabriel, outlining her concerns and how they could be addressed. It might be a bit difficult to explain to the new hire why they would be working at the office instead remotely at the Agreste home like Nathalie did, but they wouldn't question it _too_ much. No one questioned Gabriel Agreste, not if they valued their job. Nathalie (and Emilie, when she had still been around) were the only exceptions to that rule.

Nathalie hemmed and hawed for a few minutes before finally getting up and heading over to Emilie's portrait. It took a few seconds for her to remember the combination of buttons to head down to the underground cavern instead of up to Hawkmoth's lair, but then it came back to her and she was heading down, down, down.

It was eerie, really, how silent the elevator was. And then the floor to Gabriel's office was soundproof, which meant that if Gabriel wanted to be sure not to appear at a bad time, he had to call her on the intercom (or, before, on her phone) first.

It was all too dramatic, really. But Nathalie couldn't blame Gabriel _entirely_ for that. Emilie had been the one to renovate the underground cavern and have the elevator installed, after all.

In almost no time, a light appeared below Nathalie's feet. Seconds later, she was descending into an alcove of the cavern. Once the elevator came to a stop, Nathalie stepped off, peering around the corner.

Gabriel was there, just as she knew he would be. He stood in front of Emilie, talking quietly to her. Nathalie moved closer, staying out of sight. He would be _furious_ if she interrupted, but Nathalie was curious.

"It's just so _frustrating_," Gabriel was saying, irritation clear in his voice. "Working around the curse is _awful_. It gets in the way so much. I'm absolutely _positive_ that if we could use the Peacock in every battle, we would win in no time at all and we could be able to cure you, Emilie. We could change time so that the curse would have worn off for you and you could be with us again instead of being like….this." Gabriel reached out, squeezing Emilie's hand. Nathalie watched closely. There was no reaction, and she winced and leaned back.

Emilie used to respond to touches like that most of the time, her expression shifting slightly or returning a light squeeze. The frequency of the reactions had decreased over time, and now….. Well, now it was rare for her to respond at all.

It wasn't a good sign.

"I can tell that Adrien is worried," Gabriel continued, and Nathalie resisted the urge to roll her eyes. Gabriel only could tell because his Miraculous let him sense emotions. If he was left to his own devices, he would probably think that Adrien was just fine. "Which means that I should push even more. It's important for me to succeed, no matter what. I just wish the Peacock would cooperate. I can't- I don't know what I'll do if we push too hard and Nathalie ends up like you."

Nathalie winced at that, too. She didn't want to end up weakened to the point of falling into a coma like Emilie had. She wouldn't let it get to that point. If she found herself on a steep downhill, Nathalie would take a big, _big_ step back from the whole business. Maybe she would take a short trip out of the country.

….she wouldn't take a trip out of the country, Nathalie couldn't even lie to herself. She cared for the Agrestes too much to be able to take a step back like that. Maybe she would take a day trip or two out of the city and see if distance from the Miraculous helped.

"We were hoping that the curse would go after something else, like it did with Mrs. Tsurugi," Gabriel continued, and for the first time, Nathalie frowned. _What?_ What did the Peacock have anything to do with the mother of Adrien's main fencing opponent? And what did Gabriel mean, _we?_ She certainly didn't know of any other ways for the curse to manifest besides how it had affected Emilie. Nathalie would have appreciated knowing that if there was.

She liked knowing all of the information available before making a decision. It was the only smart move, after all. It was why _Gabriel_ was so successful, because Nathalie never made an uninformed decision.

Gabriel sighed. "It would have been better that way. We could have pushed more. Nooroo-"

"The curse latched on to a pre-existing condition in Madam Tsurugi's case," Nooroo's high voice chimed in. "She could not guide it. I suspect that, if given the option, she would have preferred that the curse _not_ do that. Exhaustion is exasperating, but unless it goes too far, it can be recovered from."

"Perhaps." Gabriel sounded irritated. "Still, I would have preferred that Emilie lose the ability to walk for a bit over this. She's fading, I can tell. She's less responsive, and it seems like she's dropping into an even deeper sleep- her breathing rate has slowing down, and so has her heart rate. Like the Peacock is still taking energy from her."

Nooroo didn't respond to that, and Nathalie's eyes narrowed. No response usually meant that the kwami knew something and just wasn't sharing it.

"I can tell it's doing something similar to me," Gabriel said, reaching forward to place a hand on Emilie's tube, and Nathalie's eyebrows nearly shot off of her face. To _him?_ When had he used the Peacock? She would have noticed if he had collapsed, or if he was oddly tired. Gabriel had changed after Emilie collapsed, for sure- he had gotten colder and more detached as he focused nearly all of his energy on trying to find a solution- but he hadn't seemed _tired._ "I can tell why you never used Heart, Emilie. There are times when I look back at something that I did in the heat of a moment and wonder- when I wonder how I went that far. And I know it'll flare up again, and I wonder what I'll do next time. And I worry. How much are we going to have to destroy our health before we succeed?"

Nathalie perked up and listened intently. _This_ sounded like there were _options_. Like she didn't _have_ to be exhausting herself with every transformation. She willed Gabriel to keep talking.

"Three options, none of them good," Nooroo added. "Taking from the heart, body, or mind. Those are the conditions of the curse, if the Miraculous is to be used before the curse is broken."

"I wish I could have gotten another _unbroken_ Miraculous," Gabriel muttered. "Or- why couldn't it have been the Butterfly with the curse? You only needed to use the Peacock for your battles, Emilie. Or why couldn't it have been someone _else_ affected? Or why couldn't you have handed it off sooner? Adrien still needs you. _I_ need you."

Nathalie looked away as Gabriel's voice became softer. She wasn't meant to be witnessing this. Still, she stayed for a few more minutes, hoping that Gabriel would elaborate on what Nooroo had said. Since he didn't, she assumed that he had already known about the three options for how the curse would manifest and he simply hadn't told her. Like usual, Gabriel was deciding what _he_ thought would be better for people, all without asking the people involved.

Well. It was one thing when he did it for Adrien- after all, Adrien was both his son and also still a _child_\- but Nathalie was neither related to him nor a child in any shape or form. She could make her own decisions, _thank you very much_.

While Gabriel was distracted, Nathalie slipped back to the elevator and pressed the buttons that would take her upstairs once again. It whisked her upstairs with the same quiet efficiency as before, and then Nathalie stepped off and onto the main office floor, returning to her paperwork. Gabriel returned to the office nearly half an hour later, heading out almost immediately. Back to the master bedroom, no doubt. After an emotional visit with the catatonic Emilie, it would be a miracle if he returned to work before the end of the day. Nathalie wouldn't interrupt him.

Instead, she let herself sit back and mull over what she had overheard. She wouldn't be able to ask Gabriel about any of it, of course- he would be _infuriated_ to learn that she had eavesdropped on him when she knew full well that she shouldn't be going down to the belowground cavern without permission, _especially_ when Gabriel was already down there- but that didn't mean that she couldn't _wonder_.

_Or_ that she couldn't make up her own mind on certain things.

Nathalie slid her chair back enough to open her desk drawer. Inside sat a small wooden box, locked shut. It was easy enough to punch in the code and open it up, revealing the cursed Miraculous. Nathalie tipped it into the palm of her hand, trying to ignore the heavy feeling it gave off, as though she was already getting weighed down by exhaustion. There was a sense of wrongness to it, too, as though the appearance wasn't sign enough.

Everything in Nathalie screamed at her to put it down, to put it away and to _stay away_ from it. Instead, she turned it over in her hands, thinking about the choices that she apparently had that she hadn't even known about before.

_Heart, body, mind_. Well, obviously the default was _body_, or maybe it was just default because she hadn't known that there were other options.

But _body_ wasn't a good choice, not at all. It was a pain, really, to be rendered so weak every time she transformed, and Nathalie wanted that to stop. She couldn't handle it, and it was _seriously_ cutting into her productivity. So she considered the others.

Not mind, of course. She had no desire to be driven mad by Gabriel's quest. It simply wasn't worth it, not when getting the Ladybug and Chat Noir Miraculous wasn't 100% a given. But _heart?_ Giving up emotions and turning the world back into a black-and-white cost and benefits analysis? That didn't sound so bad. The world was more confusing when pesky _feelings_ were involved, and she _certainly_ didn't need them to do her job successfully. In fact, her life would be better without _feelings_ getting in her way and turning her head.

The more she thought about it, the better of an idea it seemed. She could stop feeling ill and weak so often, stop feeling disturbed about the effects on the city from some of the more disturbing akuma attacks, and even get rid of those last pesky feelings about Gabriel and Emilie and her protective feelings towards Adrien, so she could be more efficient as Hawkmoth's helper. It was a win-win, as far as she could see it.

Besides, Nathalie _could_ just try it out a few times and see how she felt afterwards. There was nothing that said that Nathalie _had_ to commit to using Heart for all of her transformations going forward, after all.

It was an obvious solution to having her body weakened, a solution that Emilie would never have been able to take with a husband and child to think about. Turning heartless when she was the glue that held the family together would have been utterly _unthinkable_.

Plan decided, Nathalie patted her Miraculous. It seemed lighter now, as though it was agreeing with her.

This would be the turning point they needed She was _sure_ of it.

* * *

_a/n: Next chapter: a change in POV! I wonder why...?_

_As always, reviews make my day! :)_


	3. Gabriel: Part 1

Gabriel couldn't help but feel pleased about how things seemed to be going recently on his side of the akuma attacks. Unexpectedly, Nathalie seemed to be progressively less affected by the Peacock's curse, no longer at the brink of collapse after each transformation. It suggested that either she had somehow developed a strong enough will to miraculously shake the effects off, or (more likely) the curse was _finally_ wearing off, who knew how many years after being cast. She was becoming a stronger strategist as well, figuring out where Ladybug and Chat Noir's weaknesses might be and how they could be exploited.

They hadn't won, not yet. But Gabriel was _sure_ that it was only a matter of time. Eventually he would get an akuma that was strong enough that, combined with the Peacock's boost, would be able to take Ladybug and Chat Noir down.

And they would need a _very _strong akuma now. Ladybug and Chat Noir had somehow worked out how to do several (thankfully lower-level) power-ups and they sometimes- more and more frequently now- called on additional users for backup during fights.

(And wasn't that infuriating? The superheroes were clearly making _frequent_ trips to the Guardian's home- _during_ the akuma attacks-and somehow he was missing it. So many opportunities to find the Guardian and pull more kwamis into his employ, just _missed_.)

Still, he was optimistic. If the curse wore off fully, perhaps Nathalie could use some of the Peacock power-ups on top of the basic power and turn the tide of a fight fully. With the two of them out there with the akuma- if they could contain the two superheroes before they went running for their three back-ups- they could win.

In the meantime, Gabriel continued his routine of akumatizing whatever citizens were available. After all, all he had to do was have _one_ lucky break, _one_ time where Ladybug and Chat Noir were tired or sick or distracted and could be defeated.

"Sir, I have taken the liberty of telling Adrien that you won't be available to see his fencing match." Nathalie's voice cut through his thoughts. "Shall I schedule a Skype meeting in that time slot?"

"If you could." Gabriel gave himself a shake and turned back to his work. He had a stack of designs from the streetwear design team to review, and there was no reason to slack off on it. "The last time I left the mansion, I missed a prime akuma target and had to settle for a second-rate one. There will be time _after_ when I can attend the matches."

_After Emilie is back_ went unsaid. It was obvious.

Nathalie nodded and went back to her desk. Gabriel turned back to his work, making a couple small alterations and suggestions in the margins of the designs. A couple designs he knew that he would have to watch to make sure that his suggestions were _followed_\- Madam Laurie was a talented designer when it came to shapes and patterns, but had _no_ eye for color- but most were ready to go to production.

He and Nathalie worked in silence for nearly three hours before his brooch started warming up, becoming hot to the touch. Gabriel reached for it, gauging the suitability of the target before nodding decisively.

Yes, this would be a strong one.

The elevator whirred as it brought him down to the basement, over, and up. Gabriel stepped off at the top, in case Nathalie decided to join him and needed to use it. It didn't take long at all for Gabriel to transform and send an akuma off, fluttering over the rooftops. While he waited for it to reach its target, he kept one finger on the brooch.

It was _blazing_. Someone in Paris was raging against something, probably protesting an injustice or furious at a bully. Their rage would fuel their powers, making them strong.

He waited. Then, just as the akuma was drawing closer to its target, the brooch dimmed and cooled. The (former) target was still irritated, but no longer akumatizeable.

Hawkmoth gritted his teeth. This had been happening too often as of late. He had found a perfect target, only to have the butterfly diverted or rebuffed at last minute. If he could figure out who was doing it and how he could get to them _before_ they calmed themselves down…

If it was the same person (or the same people, even), they would make a _formidable _opponent.

Still, Hawkmoth waited. His butterfly was out there, and there was no point in recalling it. It would find another target soon enough, and even if they weren't ideal, anything to pull Ladybug and Chat Noir out was good.

...well. Almost anything. Hawkmoth groaned as the akuma found a sobbing baby and transformed it into...well, a sleeping superpowered baby.

Unless the baby had some sort of amazing power that he didn't know about, that was a _complete_ waste of an akuma.

After several minutes of _nothing_ happening, Hawkmoth detransformed and headed right back downstairs. There was no point in wasting his time watching a _baby_ sleep.

He had done _quite_ enough of that when Adrien was young. It wasn't that interesting.

"Back already?" Nathalie inquired as Gabriel reappeared. "That was fast."

"Yes, well, my target vanished and a baby appeared." Gabriel flopped down at his desk. "It wasn't worth spending my time on, so I cut my losses."

Nathalie frowned. "It would have been more efficient to recall the akuma and re-use it."

"I wasn't feeling any decent targets."

"_Anything_ would have been better than letting it stay with a _baby_." Nathalie didn't look pleased. "Ladybug and Chat Noir have become accomplished at taking down those akumas quickly, and then Nooroo has to recharge before he can go again at full strength."

"If I had felt a decent target, I would have recalled my akuma and sent it elsewhere." Gabriel frowned at Nathalie. It wasn't like her to be so argumentative. Perhaps there were some still-lingering effects from the Peacock Miraculous that were flaring up today and that was why she was so snappy. Perhaps they should reinstate the once-a-week transformation limit, even though Nathalie had been transforming twice a week for the past two weeks, seemingly without a problem. "If nothing else, the baby will force Ladybug and Chat Noir to use their powers and it could wear them down a little."

"Which will only make a difference if you send out another akuma as soon as they defeat this one."

"I'll keep one ear to the ground for any possible candidates."

Nathalie nodded, but she looked displeased as she went back to her work. Gabriel woke his computer back up and pulled up a news feed to play in one corner of his screen while he returned his attention to his designs. As predicted, it didn't take long for Ladybug and Chat Noir to defeat the akuma, and then they were returning the baby to her mother and vanishing over the skyline.

His brooch remained cold, so Gabriel shrugged and wrote the akuma off as yet another lost cause. Frustrating, yes- once he won against Ladybug and Chat Noir he was going to rub his victory in their faces to make up for all the times when they had won against him and celebrated- but not nearly as rare of an occurrence as he would have liked.

"Are you going to akumatize another person now?" Nathalie wanted to know, almost as soon as Gabriel had fully returned his attention to his work. "Or are you going to let yet _another_ opportunity slip by?"

"There aren't enough options," Gabriel protested. "Or, rather, there aren't _any_. There's not a single viable candidate in range right now."

"Send out another butterfly anyway and create another weak akuma, then. Wear them down."

Gabriel blinked, taken aback. "Nathalie-"

"Are you trying to win or not?"

He frowned at her, letting his voice turn icy as he responded. "What are you suggesting, Nathalie?" Gabriel watched as she shrunk back. "I am doing my best. But the baby was a lost cause from the start. I need to be ready for any _actual _prospects that come up. We both know that Ladybug and Chat Noir will not be worn down by a parade of sleeping akumas, but Nooroo will be."

This time, Nathalie didn't respond. Gabriel spared her a look before returning his attention to his work, putting the incident out of his mind almost immediately. It was a one-off, a fluke caused by exhaustion.

Except then it wasn't. Nathalie was more snappish on a regular basis, getting irritated whenever Gabriel did anything that wasn't up to her standards. An underwhelming akuma? She was mad. Designs taking too long to finalize? She was annoyed. Ladybug and Chat Noir taking down an akuma that had potential way too quickly thanks to a dumb error? She was seething.

An angry Nathalie was not a Nathalie that Gabriel wanted to spend his time around.

And then after several weeks of increasingly snappish behavior, during one of their weekly Planning Meetings, Gabriel could no longer deny that something was very, _very_ wrong.

"If we hit the Eiffel Tower at mid-day during a holiday with no warning and your most destructive akuma, Ladybug and Chat Noir will be too distracted by evacuating people to deal with the akuma," Nathalie told him. She had somehow taken over the meeting, directing it instead of simply contributing information and then sitting back to let him lead. "Then the akuma can move in and take them by surprise-"

"I would rather use an akuma with mind-control powers or something similar- one that turns people to ice or stone, perhaps," Gabriel said at once. "Ladybug and Chat Noir would still want to get people evacuated, and people scream and panic just as much as when there's an akuma that could, ah, cause deaths." He hated it when that happened, but sometimes it just wasn't avoidable and he didn't want to hold back or compromise promising akumas. It would all get erased in the end.

He wouldn't _deliberately_ cause deaths, though. That- that was crossing a line that he just wasn't willing to cross. It was something that Nathalie wasn't willing to cross, either, so maybe she just hadn't considered her idea all the way through-

"It won't be as effective without the more serious consequences, but I suppose it could work," Nathalie said, and suddenly Gabriel's rock-solid belief that the two of them shared the same supervillain boundaries was shaken. Her expression was cold and calculating, and Gabriel hastily repressed the urge to move away from her and the dark aura that seemed to suddenly appear around her. "Or instead of ice and stone, we could turn people into monsters- then they would run from both the monsters and the akumas. It would be panic. Chaos. Ladybug and Chat Noir torn between being annoyingly _heroic _and saving civilians or going after the akuma-"

"Okay, I think we've made a good bit of progress for today," Gabriel said before she could say anything else and before her expression could get any more unsettling. "And we- well, you- came up with some very good ideas for me to incorporate in our next few akuma fights. So I suggest that we end this meeting and get back to work. We're falling behind on the business, and we need to catch up before we can spend an entire day trying to make progress with the Miraculous."

"We can hire more people to do that for us-"

"That's a good idea, if you can write up a job description then you can send it to me to review later. For now, uh." Gabriel let one hand drift up to his Miraculous. It was hardly warm at all, so there was no using it as an excuse. "I need to use the bathroom. If you can look over the proposals from Manufacturing, that would be great."

And then he escaped.

"What- what _was_ that?" Gabriel asked once he had locked himself away in the master bedroom's bathroom. He was feeling unsettled, more than he thought was entirely warranted from just Nathalie's words and expression. "Nooroo, you can sense feelings. What's going on with Nathalie? She wasn't herself today. Her behavior hasn't been normal both during our meeting and just in general recently, and then today she suggested, uh…" Gabriel struggled to find the words. He didn't _think_ that he was reading Nathalie wrong. "Unethical supervillainry via too-dangerous akuma battles?"

Nooroo didn't look impressed by that. Gabriel…. Well, Gabriel couldn't blame him, exactly.

It was hard to put it into words, properly, but he _couldn't_ deliberately cause deaths. That would make him a _real_ supervillain.

"Anyway, she's always been concerned about the potential for people to get seriously injured or killed before," Gabriel continued. "And all of a sudden she's actually suggesting it."

Nooroo nodded. "Yes, there's been a definite decline in emotion in her as of late. There's still annoyance there, but it's very muted. Almost as thought something was… missing."

"As of late…" Gabriel mused. Then he frowned. "What constitutes _as of late?_"

Nooroo thought about it. "A few weeks?"

"Since she started transforming more?"

"Yes!" Nooroo exclaimed. "Since she's started transforming more, it seems like she's lost her empathy and her feelings- oh! _She's lost her heart!_ That's what it is! She's stopped using Body and has been using Heart instead!"

"What do you-" Gabriel started, then he froze as Nooroo's words sunk in. Of _course!_ How hadn't he seen it before? He of all people _should_ have recognized the symptoms, considering that he used Heart when he tried transforming with the Peacock in an attempt to revive Emilie, right after she fell into a coma. He hadn't dared to use Body, not after what it had done to Emilie, and he had figured that one use couldn't possibly do that much damage.

Except it hadn't just been one use. He might not have used the Peacock's power- he wasn't going to push that far- he had still transformed several times, trying to see if doing so would help him gain some insight on what he might do to break the spell. It hadn't helped at all- which he perhaps should have expected, since Emilie had certainly tried to figure out how to break the curse before- but he had needed to try _something_.

(And _yes_, sure, he had tried again a few times since then, to see if he could pick out a difference while actually transforming now that he was used to what it was _supposed_ to feel like with Nooroo, but that- he hadn't transformed much, and he had never done it for long. He knew what he was doing and he knew the risks, and Nathalie- Nathalie did not.)

"But how would she have figured out that she _could_ do that?" Gabriel wondered out loud. "I didn't tell her because I saw what it was doing to me and I could tell that it was dangerous, so I made sure to limit it. And I made sure to never mention it anywhere where she could have heard."

"You have ears all over the mansion, Gabriel," Nooroo reminded him, gesturing to the intercom installed on the wall. "And Nathalie is a smart woman. Surely she could have rigged one to listen in if she really wanted to. Or perhaps she followed you but you didn't realize it. There are many options."

Gabriel frowned. He didn't like the idea of being eavesdropped on in his own house. Perhaps he should order Nooroo to do a search later on, so that he knew what was wired and what wasn't. But that was a problem for later, so he decided to focus on something else. "If she's so smart, then why would she think that _heart_ was a good choice?"

"Well, no one is going to do mind. The thought of losing your mind knowingly turns everyone off." Nooroo swirled around his head before coming to a stop in a midair hover. "And she had experience with what body feels like, and it was unpleasant. She saw the dangers of continuing like that. So she decided to explore the third option."

"She should have noticed the effects. I did."

"You didn't use the Peacock's power. She has, every time. The effects would have appeared faster, perhaps fast enough for her to notice but not care. Using Heart is very dangerous."

Gabriel frowned, turning away from his kwami as he started to pace up and down the length of the bathroom. He could hear the judgment in Nooroo's voice. After all, he himself had known that it was dangerous and had transformed anyway. But that had been _different_. He knew to limit his transformations, and Nathalie had _increased_ hers. He had been _careful_.

Maybe it would have been considered _more_ careful for him to use Body instead, but he had known even then that Emilie had been doing something to alleviate the effects of the curse and he didn't know _what_. He hadn't wanted to collapse as well and leave Adrien without any parents. Gabriel had never been a particularly cuddly person to start out with, so he had figured that there wouldn't be _too_ much of a change from using Heart.

He hadn't known then that there would be lingering effects just from those few transformations, or that the effects would periodically flare up again.

"So what do we do now?" Gabriel asked after a few minutes of pacing. He turned on his heel and finally stilled, looking at Nooroo. "How do we stop her and reverse the effects? I can't see things improving if she continues like this."

Nooroo looked nervous. "Master, I don't know if-"

"There must be _something_ that we can do!" Gabriel insisted, face twisting into a scowl. "I have superpowers! I will not be helpless!"

"But she has superpowers as well," Nooroo pointed out, flying back out of his reach. "And looking back at how far things have progressed… Master, she's probably keeping the Peacock Miraculous on her all the time, instead of taking it off and storing it somewhere where you could take it. You could try sending her on vacation for a week or two so that she is away from the city and has no reason to transform, but I would bet that Nathalie would take the Miraculous with her. And she would be _very_ suspicious of that as well, I would think."

"She would absolutely pick up on what I was doing right away," Gabriel agreed. "And she would push back even harder. She might try to get _me_ out of the city, or take my Miraculous. And I can already tell that it wouldn't be a good idea."

Nooroo nodded and tilted his head, clearly thinking. "You… could transform less, perhaps? Then she wouldn't have as many opportunities to transform."

Gabriel scowled at that, the ever-present irritation rising up as he realized that Nooroo was trying to take advantage of the situation. "And what good would that do? If I don't use my Miraculous, then I will have no chance of beating Ladybug and Chat Noir! And Nathalie only transforms for the strongest akumas anyway, so being more picky about how often I akumatize someone would make no difference. No, that's not the best way," he decided, slamming a hand down on his bathroom counter. Nooroo flinched. _Good_. That was what he had deserved for trying to take advantage of the situation. It was _serious_ and the kwami had to treat it as such instead of trying to rebel. "I need to bring this fight to an end, and it's more important than ever to get it done _quickly_. I should push harder than ever to wrap this whole thing up."

"Master, are you sure-"

"This is an unforeseen snag in my plan, but I can use it, I'm sure," Gabriel decided, nodding at his reflection in the mirror. There was a lot more grey in his hair than there used to be- a side effect of all of the stress that he had been under in the past year- but it just made him look more _distinguished_. "If I can persuade Nathalie that I'll go along with her plan, then I can direct her again. I just have to _adapt_."

He could handle this. Perhaps it would take a few days, but Gabriel could get the situation under control and take advantage of the whole thing. Then he would win, get the Miraculous, and return his whole life to normal, no problem at all.

It was alarming, but everything would be _fine_.

* * *

_a/n: Yes, Gabriel, working with someone who is slowly going heartless sounds like something that will turn out fine. Maybe. Not at all._

_As always, reviews make my day! :)_


	4. Gabriel: Part 2

Everything was not all right.

After only a couple more transformations, Nathalie was pushing to become the real driving force behind the akumas. She became a backseat director, following the battles on her computer and barking directions to Gabriel, the tone of her voice making it clear that she expected her directions to be followed. In an attempt to cooperate with her and bring Nathalie back under his direction, he followed her instructions as much as he could (or as much as he was willing), pushing the akumas to get the Miraculous _before _they went off and did their revenge or whatever it was that they wanted to do.

It had backfired. Badly. By now, every single akuma knew that the ones before them had been defeated and had lost their powers, so they wanted to get their revenge _first_ and then deal with the superhero duo later. They argued with Hawkmoth, insisting that they should at least be able to do their own thing for long enough to get a handle on their powers before they plunged into battle- which, okay, that was a fair enough point. Hawkmoth tried to compromise with them, trying to tell the akumas to withhold some of their powers as a surprise once Ladybug and Chat Noir showed up, but… well, it didn't always happen. Add in the fact that some of the akumas only ever _had_ one power- he was getting better at coming up with more than one power for his akumas to have on the spot, but it didn't always happen- and sometimes there wasn't an _option_ for them to hide their powers, and that particular strategy fell flat _really_ fast.

(One time, he and the akuma had been so focused on their argument that Ladybug and Chat Noir were able to sneak up on the akuma, snatch the possessed item, break it, and purify the butterfly before the akuma even had time to react. Which was a tragedy, really, because that akuma had had _so_ much potential.)

Once he got a repeat akuma, he could think back to the files he had discussed with Nathalie and throw in a few new powers, powers that could stay hidden until Ladybug and Chat Noir showed up. But repeats weren't that common (Pigeon Man aside, of course), and Gabriel was always put on the spot and scrambling when his akumas were actually transforming. If he came up blank, then Nooroo's powers would fill in and give the akuma some basic powers.

Basic powers weren't cutting it anymore. They hadn't been cutting it for a while. They needed to grow and improve to get ahead of Ladybug and Chat Noir, or else they would be seriously outpaced.

It was a pity that he couldn't recall powers mid-fight and re-issue them with power-ups once he came up with more ideas. Once a target was deakumaized, unless they knowingly and willingly accepted the akuma again, they were done. There was no second chance for him.

Unless the target _wanted_ to be akumatized again. Which wouldn't happen unless they had _started_ the whole thing wanting to be akumatized. Which- well, there were only two people who thought like that, really. Nathalie and that one girl from Adrien's class, the one who hated Ladybug.

Perhaps Gabriel would have to consult with Nathalie and see if she could come up with power-ups for Volpina, or think of other ways that the girl could be akumatized. Ladybug and Chat Noir had gone up against her visions several times now and knew how to defeat them. If she could be given a power up, somehow- if _one_ of her illusions could actually be reality without giving away _which_ one….

Well, it was something to think about. He could try it, at least. It was entirely possible that Gabriel was reaching the limits of Nooroo's easily accessible powers and that he wouldn't be able to overextend his kwami further. He would have to look at the book again and see if he could decipher anything more.

Not that he had really been able to decipher anything in the first place. All of the spells that he had- they were things that _Emilie_ had figured out and that he had just happened to find half-translated in what few notes she hadn't hidden.

"Give me an akuma. I'll decipher the book."

Gabriel stared at Nathalie, startled. Why hadn't _he_ thought of that? It was _obvious_. "That's a great idea, Nathalie! We should have thought of it ages ago-"

"Spare me the flattery and platitudes. An akuma, Gabriel."

Needless to say, the plan to get firmly into Nathalie's good graces and manipulate her from there was going less than well.

"Of course! Let's move upstairs first, since I believe Adrien is meant to be coming home soon-"

"He has fencing today and will be coming home in two and a half hours."

Gabriel swallowed and nodded. Nathalie had been efficient before, when she still had her heart. Now she was absolutely terrifying. Meetings and schedules were memorized fully, and could be recited off at a moment's notice. "All right. But there's still the household staff, and we don't know how long the translation will take."

Nooroo popped out of the drawer that Gabriel had stashed him in. "Translation? What translation?"

"The books and the scrolls, of course. What else would we be translating?" Gabriel started gathering them up, along with a blank notebook for Nathalie to record the translations. "Come, Nooroo. Nathalie, meet us up there in three minutes."

Nathalie nodded. Gabriel tucked the book and three scrolls under his arm and hit the buttons to head up to his lair. Nooroo hastily flew after him.

"Master, are you sure-"

"Don't try to talk me out of this, Nooroo. It's an obvious solution to a large problem. I learn what's written on these pages, I write it down, I can use the power-ups that Ladybug and Chat Noir already have access to! I'll win at _last_, and my wish will revive Emilie and give Nathalie her heart back."

"Master, for every wish-"

"I know what I'm doing, Nooroo."

Nooroo tried one more time as Gabriel ascended into the lair. "Master, there's something-"

"_Enough_, Nooroo. Transform me!"

Butterflies swirled around him as his suit materialized. Hawkmoth brushed some imaginary dust off of the lapel before stepping off of the elevator so that Nathalie could use it. Seconds later, it descended back into the house.

"All right, my little akuma," Hawkmoth muttered, reaching out and capturing one of the fluttering butterflies. "Let's get you ready to corrupt her!"

The elevator hummed as it returned. Hawkmoth ignored the dread in his gut that had started appearing every time he and Nathalie had to be together. There was no reason for him to be worried this time. Nathalie had made a suggestion that was reasonable- no deaths or maiming involved- and he was acting on it immediately. She would be pleased.

As pleased as Nathalie ever got anymore, at least, which really wasn't much.

Maybe they would be distracted enough by the translations in the book that she could take a week off from transforming and actually make a small bit of a recovery, or at the very least stop getting _more_ heartless.

"I'm ready," Nathalie announced as soon as she came into view. She held out her wrist, where she had tied a small bracelet. "Put it in there."

Hawkmoth tipped the akuma onto Nathalie's wrist and watched as the cloud of darkness enveloped her. A moment later, it cleared, leaving Nathalie- Decrypter, now- in a sharp suit with a very techno-looking headset. She reached an impatient hand out, gesturing for the book. Hawkmoth handed it over eagerly, ready to at long last access the secrets of the Miraculous.

He could just taste victory now. With a few power-ups at once, he should be able to defeat Ladybug and Chat Noir in no time at all, and then he could do his wish and get Emilie and his normal life back. Hawkmoth wondered how much of this timeline he would be able to remember. He would be fine with forgetting it entirely, honestly, but somehow he suspected that as the wish-caster, he would remember it. Still, it could be pushed aside and forgotten as a bad dream, one that held no importance at all.

Gabriel wasn't going to tell Emilie what he had done to break the curse and get her back. She didn't need to know. It wasn't as though it would make a _difference_. All it would accomplish would be making her _furious_ with him.

"I- I can't read it."

Hawkmoth was suddenly pulled from his daydreams of vacationing with his wife and thrown back into cruel reality. He frowned at Decrypter. "What?"

"It looks exactly the same as before." Decrypter pulled her goggles off and frowned at them. There weren't any dials or buttons for her to push to change the settings or anything like that. "My powers are broken."

"Should we try using another code?" Hawkmoth suggested warily. "Maybe we- maybe I didn't focus hard enough on what powers I wanted. Uh, maybe I can pull something up on my cane..?"

Decrypter frowned. "Or on my tablet. I brought it up."

Hawkmoth looked. Sure enough, she had done just that. He picked it up, pulling up a page with sentences in an assortment of codes. He turned it towards Decrypter and waited.

"That's simple. Child's play. It looks like normal sentences."

Now completely confused, Hawkmoth released his transformation. He scowled at Nooroo as soon as he was free. "What do you think you're doing? Why can't Nathalie read the book or the scrolls?"

"I tried to tell you!" Nooroo protested. "The book is spelled so that we kwamis can't read it, and that ban extends to using our powers to read it! It's a safety measure."

Gabriel scowled, and he could see Decrypter doing the same. "_That's_ convenient."

Nooroo held firm. "That was what the Guardians did. It was not our choice."

Gabriel growled, and Decrypter released her akuma with a swirl of dark purple smoke. Nathalie was scowling. "We'll find a way around that yet."

"We're not going to give up on cracking the code," Gabriel added, gathering up the grimoire and the scrolls. "Maybe I pushed that to the side because I thought that it wouldn't be useful, but now- we _will_ push to translate it. And then when we do-"

"We'll be _unstoppable_," Nathalie finished, eyes glittering. "All of Paris will cower before us. And we _will_ win."

* * *

Whatever code the grimoire's authors used was _impossible_ to crack. Gabriel set aside an hour of time every day to try to make a dent in it, but so far all that he had accomplished was making himself frustrated and angry.

And making _Nathalie_ frustrated and angry, which was- well, that was worse. It made her want to transform _more_, to actually be able to control something.

Since Nathalie wasn't the one with the Butterfly Miraculous, that _something_ that she was controlling was Gabriel. He could see her trying to extend her control onto Adrien, but. Well.

Gabriel might have made a lot of missteps lately, but he was _not_ going to let Adrien pick up on the fact that something was wrong with Nathalie. He had to draw the line in the sand _somewhere_, and he could tell that sooner or later, Nathalie would be dangerous to be around.

He could handle it. After all, Gabriel had superpowers at his beck and call. Adrien didn't.

So Gabriel put the Gorilla in charge of fetching Adrien for his various activities whenever he could, and when he couldn't- when the Gorilla was ill or busy or gone home for the day- Gabriel stepped in.

He tried not to feel bad about the way Adrien lit up when Gabriel fetched him for dinner, or popped his head in to announce the arrival of his piano or Mandarin teachers, or interrupted Adrien's breakfast to tell him about changes to his schedule. The change wasn't for any of the reasons that Gabriel knew that Adrien was thinking of, but simply because the other option- allowing Nathalie to continue coming in contact with Adrien- was too dangerous, and Adrien would only ask questions if he hired another person to update Adrien on his assorted activities.

(Besides, one more person around the house meant one more person who could potentially find out about him and go to the police, and they- they couldn't have that. No, it was better to use the people already around the house.)

Still, it was good that Adrien was happy. If he were upset- well, Gabriel had ignored Adrien's perfectly akumatizeable emotions before, simply because he knew that Emilie would have had his head for it. But with Nathalie keeping an eye on his every move, Gabriel knew that she would insist that he not miss any potential opportunities.

She wouldn't even comment on the symmetry of Adrien coming together with his father- well, with Gabriel's powers, at least- to bring his mom back. No, by now Nathalie would simply see Adrien as another potential tool.

And despite everything- despite all of his questionable actions and perhaps less-than-stellar behavior- _that_, Gabriel wouldn't be able to stand.

Nathalie was concerned with other things. With the grimoire looking like a dead end, she turned her attention to the extra powers they _did_ have.

"We should do Catalyst and Scarlet Moth again," she announced one morning, striding into the office with purpose in her step. "That was a serious power-up, and you didn't need any _spells_ to get it to work."

"Nooroo was wiped out for over a week after that last time," Gabriel protested automatically, and then his mind caught up to what he was saying. _For a week_. If Nathalie was transformed as Catalyst, then she wouldn't be Mayura. And no transformations and no akumas for a week meant more time for some of her humanity to return.

Well. If that was even an option anymore, that was. Maybe she had gone too far for a week to make any real difference. She had transformed far more times than Emilie had, after all.

"_When_ we win, there won't be any need to transform again," Nathalie said sharply. "You talk as though it's inevitable that we will lose. You came close to winning before- if we go through what mistakes were made and where we can improve, a second run-through could come up differently."

Gabriel frowned. "Such as?"

"Announcing to the world where you were. Stealth would help you." Nathalie pulled out a pad of paper and started scribbling as she talked. "Specifically targeting a few people so that they have more than their base powers. Using Volpina to cause confusion by making you appear where you are not."

"I did that already."

"Only on a very small scale. I'm talking across the city." Nathalie slapped down a map of Paris, covering all of Gabriel's drawings on his desk. "They wouldn't expect it. They would know to watch their backs when they're approaching what might be a illusion of you, so we can't do _that_ again right away, but there's no reason why we can't change it up."

Gabriel thought about that. It was true, they had come _very_ close to succeeding with Catalyst and Scarlet Moth. With a few new tricks in their book, they _should _win. "Okay. But we're going to have to come up with another plan to scare everyone in the city. Too many people saw through the last attempt, and even more would see through it if we do it again."

"We do something that isn't Miraculous-related, then. Or doesn't _appear_ to be Miraculous-related, if you're too weak-hearted to actually blow anything up." Nathalie pulled out a pen and a small notepad and Gabriel tried his best to ignore the last part of her comment. "We might need more than one akuma to do that and make it believable, though. Or an akuma… and an updated Catalyst."

Gabriel frowned. He wasn't liking the sound of this. "What do you mean, not Miraculous-related?"

"A mysterious explosion in a large building. A collapse. Something that would _plunge_ people into confusion and panic." The smile on Nathalie's face was cold. "It would be an illusion, of course. And then Catalyst could have some powers to make people in the building fall asleep, so they wouldn't be able to break the illusion."

Gabriel frowned. If it was just an illusion, maybe that would be okay. "And that would be enough to throw Paris into a panic?"

"If there were several buildings to go, minutes after each other. People would think that there had been an attack." Nathalie bent over her map, circling several large buildings. The City Hall, the Louvre, several office buildings. "Famous places and lesser-known buildings. People would worry about their loved ones, and if they would be next."

"I- okay," Gabriel agreed. "As long as it's all illusion." He paused. "You seem certain that we'll be able to get Volpina again."

Nathalie rolled her eyes. "Oh, _please_. That girl's been akumatized how many times now? Put an akuma in the room that she's in and it'll be an hour at most before she accepts it. She _likes_ being an akuma and she hates Ladybug."

"Very well, we'll try it," Gabriel agreed, trying to ignore the nagging feeling in his gut that Emilie would be _furious_ about him essentially replicating terrorist attacks in the city to instill fear in everyone. But she wouldn't find out, after all, and he had to act _soon_. "Anything else that we want to change?"

And with a triumphant smirk, Nathalie told him.

* * *

Catalyst transformed first. She powered up Hawkmoth, who sent a scarlet butterfly out to tail Lila Rossi. It took all of five minutes before she noticed it and eagerly accepted it, proving that she was a _very_ willing accomplice.

Odd, but Hawkmoth wasn't going to look a gift horse in the mouth.

The first building 'collapsed' mid-afternoon, shaking the ground and sending red flames into the sky. Confusion and terror started spreading.

Hawkmoth waited.

The second building went five minutes later, the rounded rooftops of City Hall appearing to crash to the ground. Another office building went right after it.

Paris was _terrified_.

"One more," Catalyst announced over their connection. "One more, and then we can act."

"Any sign of Ladybug and Chat Noir?" Hawkmoth asked.

"None. No one has figured out that it's an akuma attack yet." He could _hear_ her smirk over the connection. "And when they _do_ appear, they aren't going to be on guard at all."

"Don't engage them," Hawkmoth instructed. "If they take you out, the scarlet butterflies will vanish."

Catalyst scoffed. "You think that I don't _know_ that? Who, exactly, is in charge of this entire fight?"

Hawkmoth gulped, realizing with a start that Nathalie really could not be considered a supervillain _sidekick_ anymore, nor had she been the sidekick for a while. _She_ was the one directing this battle. He was just the one with the butterflies. "You. I was just thinking aloud."

"Think aloud with more _sense_, then. And it's time for you to move out into position."

Hawkmoth nodded, tapping the tablet in his hand so that he could see the feed from the cameras outside. The streets were empty. "All right. Good luck."

By the time Hawkmoth reached a good vantage point, Pairs was gripped in terror. The smell of smoke hung in the air- and adding _that_ particular power-up to Volpina's set had been a genius idea from Nathalie, really- and the sirens from fire trucks were starting to sound.

Their illusions would likely break soon enough, so Hawkmoth had to act fast. With a sweeping gesture, he released hundreds of scarlet butterflies on Paris.

By the time people realized what was going on, it would be too late.

Nooroo's powers stretched thinner as more and more people were akumatized across the city. Akumas new and old formed, blasting holes in the roads and pulling those who _hadn't_ been akumatized under their mind control. Hawkmoth grinned as he spotted Stormy Weather rising above the rest, twirling her umbrella in one hand as storm clouds gathered above Paris and the wind started to pick up.

She wasn't going to be the _new_, insanely powered Stormy Weather, but she had been a difficult opponent for the superheroes both times when she had been akumatized. If he paid special attention to where she was and pulled her into being on the offensive instead of letting her roam free, she could make or break the whole battle.

Fear was giving way to panic and anger all across Paris as people realized that Hawkmoth was taking advantage of the situation. People were helpless to stop it, though, which was _exactly_ where he wanted them.

This time, his army was bigger than ever, and it was still growing.

"Control Stormy Weather!" Catalyst snapped in his ear. "She's going to make it rain or hail, and that will break the illusions. We're already having enough trouble keeping the fire trucks from reaching the illusions without one of your akuma coming along and _spoiling_ it all."

Hawkmoth nodded, searching among his many connections to reach Stormy Weather. "Stormy Weather! Hold on to your rain and hail for now. Later on, you can storm as much as you want."

He could practically _feel_ the pout through the connection. "Then what am I meant to do? Just blow air around?"

"Lightning is fine. Gusts of wind are fine. If you wanted to whip up a tornado, I wouldn't stop you. Just no rain. Let it build. Actually!" Hawkmoth exclaimed, realizing that he could take out two birds with one stone. "Use your weather to keep the fire trucks from reaching the collapsed buildings!"

"I will, Hawkmoth!"

"Ladybug and Chat Noir sighted," Catalyst reported. "I'm moving back to safety. Don't let them take out your cane this time."

"Of course."

Over the next few minutes, swarms of butterflies found their marks. Hordes of akumas- Hawkmoth cringed at a couple, because they did _not_ look good in red- swarmed over Paris. Then they hit the first hurdle.

Nooroo's power was straining. Akumas were getting increasingly less powerful and less connected to him, which meant that he might have some turn against him if he continued. After a second's consideration, Hawkmoth pulled back the remaining unclaimed butterflies, leaving them to hover above the city as a threat, one that he wouldn't actually carry out but no one _else_ knew that.

Minutes later, a gust of wind from Stormy Weather accidentally blew a branch into the first of the illusions, shattering it. There was a spike of confusion, and then _fury_.

Hawkmoth winced. Yeah, it was a good thing that his butterflies had been recalled. That was concentrated fury at _him_, and it wouldn't have gone well for him if they got powers.

The other illusions fell quickly after that. Hawkmoth ignored it- they had served their purpose, after all- and focused on relocating Volpina's link. It wasn't hard to find.

"Volpina, I need you to make an illusion of me on the Notre-Dame," he instructed her. "We need to lure in Ladybug and Chat Noir. And if you see Stormy Weather, tell her she's free to storm, as long as she stays away from the illusion."

"I'll do that, Hawkmoth."

In the streets, the akuma army milled. Hawkmoth watched them for a bit, smirking.

Maybe not all of them had great powers, but there was strength in numbers. They would wear down Ladybug and Chat Noir eventually. Hawkmoth was feeling hopeful.

And then his connection to Catalyst opened back up.

"These akuma are useless!" Catalyst seethed, anger obvious in her tone. "The superheroes are out, and they've already taken out over a dozen of the akumas!"

"Just Ladybug and Chat Noir?" Hawkmoth asked, but he had a feeling that he already knew the answer. "Or all of them?"

"Three of them. Queen Bee got akumatized already, as we hoped, and Rena Rouge hasn't shown up."

"Three is better than five. More manageable."

"Except they probably have the other Miraculous on them, ready to give out. And Ladybug and Chat Noir are plowing through the akuma, taking their butterflies while Carapace keeps the other akuma back." Catalyst sounded displeased. "Send Stormy Weather in!"

"Right, and I'm going to go over there, too. They'll be distracted." Hawkmoth smirked at the thought. Distracted heroes would be easy targets.

Or maybe not. Besides playing shield, Carapace was also keeping a sharp eye out for danger. By the time Hawkmoth had made his way over, Rena Rouge had also managed to join the fight, straight-up knocking out akumas with her flute and tossing their possessed items over to Ladybug to purify. Some citizens had even joined in, wrestling the weaker akumas to the ground and grabbing the possessed items for Ladybug.

They had definitely made a dent in Hawkmoth's underpowered akumas, but he wouldn't let himself get too discouraged by that. There were still _plenty_ of good akumas around, he just had to call them in. No sane person would get anywhere close to Stormy Weather or Stoneheart- if Stoneheart was even still around, Hawkmoth wasn't certain- and there were other akuma, too, ones with real powers at their fingertips.

"Stormy Weather, call up some fog so that the superheroes can't see," Hawkmoth ordered. "Make it thick down on the street. If you want to call down some lightning as well..."

"I'll brew up the perfect storm!"

The view on the street started getting misty right away. Hawkmoth circled overhead on the rooftops, eyes narrowed as he watched for an opening. Ladybug's yo-yo was going so fast that it was letting out a high-pitched whirr, sounding almost lethal. Chat Noir's baton was extending and shrinking back faster than his eye could track as he lashed out at akumas and swung his baton around, keeping it from hitting the sidewalk or his teammates almost instinctively. Carapace and Rena Rouge were clearly nowhere as experienced- they would be easier targets- but they were holding their own as they tussled with akumas, one after another. Besides, those were the Miraculous that he didn't care about as much. They would be easier to get, but he didn't want to spoil his surprise attack on lesser Miraculous.

Once upon a time, Hawkmoth would have said that Ladybug would be the easier target. She was a long-distance fighter, and small enough that he could knock her aside. But she had clearly been training, and could use her yo-yo as a short-range weapon as well as a long-range one, _and_ she was a fierce opponent. Chat Noir wasn't an easy target, either- Hawkmoth wouldn't be surprised if he had gone into the hero thing with a decent amount of training- but he sometimes fell back into the same fighting patterns.

But he had been breaking out of those patterns as of late, too. Hawkmoth hesitated, trying to figure out who to go after first. _Ladybug or Chat Noir?_

"I think Ladybug," he decided after a minute. After all, he had seen Ladybug hold down fights on her own before. If he fought Chat Noir and got his Miraculous, she might go after him and get her partner's Miraculous back. If he got hers first, then Chat Noir would have a harder time on his own, probably-

He never got a chance to test that theory. Something hit him _hard_ from behind, knocking Hawkmoth out of hiding spot. He felt a stab in his side, and suddenly he couldn't move a muscle as he bounced from the rooftops down to the street below.

_Paralyzed_.

His mind whirred. That could only mean one thing- somehow, even though he thought that Chloe had been taken out, removing the Bee Miraculous from the fight- somehow, _somehow_, it was active. And now he was going to get delivered to the superheroes in one frozen package.

No. _No_. He couldn't lose. Not now. Hawkmoth's mind raced, and then the obvious came to mind. Mayura- well, Catalyst- probably couldn't save him now, but he had akumas aplenty at his beck and call.

"_Stormy Weather!"_ Hawkmoth pushed through the connection desperately, hoping that she could hear him. "_Come rescue me from the street and then blast the superheroes away! I've been taken down!"_

"On it, Hawkmoth!"

Hawkmoth breathed a sigh of relief- or he _would_ have, if he could have- as Stormy Weather grabbed him around the waist and hauled him (thankfully with his cane still in hand) away from the superheroes, knocking them back with a blast of rain-heavy air and a bit of hail. She flew across the city, then paused, confused. "Uh, where do you want me to go?"

Hawkmoth had to consider that. "_We'll find a hiding spot until this darn Venom wears off_."

"Okay, Hawkmoth!"

Using his connection was wearing him out, but he had to keep an eye on the fight and his remaining akuma. Hawkmoth did a quick check of his number of connections, and... they were dropping. _Fast_.

Too fast. His advantage was shrinking. By the time the Venom wore off- surely it would only take five minutes, _hopefully_ it would only take five minutes- there would only be the strongest akuma left.

"_Stormy Weather, tangle up the city with your weather!" _Hawkmoth commanded. Then he searched out his other big connection. "_Volpina, keep shoveling on the chaos. And stay out of sight."_

There was no answer from Volpina. Hawkmoth frowned, then scrambled to try to find her connection.

It was gone.

_No!_ How had they taken _Volpina_ out? She was smart and crafty. She had to have been taken out by an attack from behind, like he had-

Which meant that none of his akumas were safe. If Queen Bee was detransforming and re-charging after each sting, then she could keep out of the majority of the fight and none of the akumas would think of watching out for her. It was a smart move, he had to admit, and not one that he would have thought Chloe Bourgeois would be able to think up.

No doubt that was Ladybug's idea.

By the time Gabriel was finally able to move his arms again, there were only a few lingering connections. As he pushed himself up, another one went, then another. Once there was only one left- well, one besides Catalyst- Hawkmoth let out a disgusted sigh and instructed the final akuma to create a messy diversion while he dashed back to the mansion, being careful not to get spotted as he slipped back inside. Once there, he released his transformation with a groan. Nooroo spiraled out of the brooch, promptly collapsing in Gabriel's hands. Gabriel passed him a snack and then headed back downstairs.

Not surprisingly, Nathalie was waiting for Gabriel in the office. She had released her akuma, and she looked rather like a thundercloud about to explode.

And explode she did.

"That should have been an opportunity that even _you_ couldn't screw up!" Nathalie snarled, jabbing a finger at Gabriel's face. "Had you played your cards right, the superheroes should have been taken down in no time at all. They should have been blown aside by Stormy Weather, then captured by the Mime or Rodgercop or literally _any of the akumas_ as soon as they fell to the ground so they couldn't fight! They could have been blown to completely separate parts of the city, divided and conquered! Literally _anything_ other than what you just did would have been more effective!"

Gabriel opened his mouth to argue, but couldn't find any words. After all, he _knew_ that they should have won. It should have been a certainty. But he hadn't expected the attack from behind, and his panic after that had meant that what _had_ been a carefully coordinated akuma effort had immediately fallen apart.

"If you had reflexes that were any faster than an arthritic ninety-year-old, you could have dodged the hit, then wrestled Queen Bee down and taken _her_ Miraculous," Nathalie continued. "It would have been a useful tool to have on our side. And you wouldn't have needed to use a perfectly good akuma to _haul you across town_."

"I didn't even _see_ her before she hit," Gabriel argued, feeling a bit insulted. He could move fast, and normally he _did_. He had been the one to face off with Ladybug and Chat Noir on Heroes Day, and he had moved _super_ fast then. His main problem after that- the reason why he hadn't won then and there- was that he had been too smug about knocking the superheroes off of their feet and so hadn't moved fast enough to end the battle on _his_ terms. "If I had, I could have dodged. I didn't even know that she was _out_. None of my akumas had said anything."

"You were oblivious to your surroundings," Nathalie continued, as though she hadn't heard him. "Too focused on what was in front of you to catch what was going on behind. It was a dumb mistake, and it was one that you shouldn't be making at this point. Now we've wasted a perfectly good opportunity. It will be hard to use Catalyst again. Paris will not fall for another trick like they did today." She sent him a thoroughly displeased look, and Gabriel felt a icy shiver run down his spine. There was nothing _human_ left in that look. "Mistake after mistake, Gabriel. I'm getting fed up."

Gabriel gulped. "I- yes-"

"From now on, _I'm_ calling _all _of the shots. Otherwise, we'll never get _anywhere_."

* * *

_a/n: wooooooo_

_Insert headcanons here: like lots of other people, I've found the Butterfly too OP, so I've inserted a couple headcanon limitations here: that the Scarlet Moth power-up drained Nooroo, and that so many akumas will have progressively less power and control. There are consequences for using that much power (aka there HAS to be a reason why Hawkmoth doesn't just use Catalyst all the time in the show!)._

_Let me know what you think! Reviews always make my day :)_


	5. Gabriel: Part 3

Having Nathalie supervising and directing his every action once Nooroo had recovered enough to transform again was _not_ fun. She moved a series of monitors up to the lair, so that they could get as much information as possible while shut up in the space. A whiteboard had a series of potential powers, arranged in a flowchart for maximum speed. She stood behind him, giving him instructions to pass on to his akumas, and she gave a _lot_ more direction than he did. His previously light direction turned heavy-handed, micromanaging akumas and using remote pain to keep them from wandering off to do their own thing.

Those were the _good_ changes.

Not all of Nathalie's ideas were ones that Gabriel was comfortable with, because even if he wasn't the most cuddly person in the world at the best of times (and even _he_ knew that that was a big understatement), he still had a _semblance_ of a heart. He still had lines that he didn't want to cross, even if they perhaps didn't make sense to an outside perspective. He had managed to hold out, more or less, but with every _no_ that he gave Nathalie, the colder she got.

And there was no real way to say no to her most recent idea, one that was a serious break from his normal operating pattern. One that would land them in some _serious_ trouble if it went sideways.

Nathalie wanted him to attack Chloe Bourgeois in an attempt to steal the Bee Miraculous. She was the only superhero whose superhero identity was publically known, and thus far, they hadn't taken _full_ advantage of that. It had been a way to target her for akumatization during both of their Scarlet Moth attempts, but nothing more than that.

Originally, he could justify not going after Chloe because there was no _way_ that she was keeping her Miraculous between battles. But the last few times that Queen Bee had joined the fight, she had appeared _fast_, as though she kept her Miraculous on her now so she could help right away when she was called.

(It was, admittedly, a little strange that Queen Bee didn't show up at _every_ attack if Nathalie was right and she _did_ keep the Miraculous, but Ladybug was crafty. Once again, she was no doubt trying to mislead him.)

Hawkmoth had to admit that Nathalie's plan made sense, even if he was a bit uncomfortable with it. The plan would require him to venture out as Hawkmoth, after all, and that was dangerous enough. Mayura would be active and ready in case something went wrong, but Nathalie was confident that nothing _would_ go wrong, not unless Gabriel seriously bungled the attack and Ladybug and Chat Noir showed up.

And if he seriously bungled the attack... well, _everything_ could be lost.

That was how Hawkmoth found himself crouched on the Bourgeois brat's balcony one cloudy evening, having used the cover of another akuma attack to get from the mansion to the Grand Paris unnoticed. He shifted from foot to foot, watching as she waved off her butler after accepting a red folder from him. He nodded and left, and Chloe leafed through the folder as though checking to make sure that everything was there before tucking it into her backpack with a satisfied smile. Hawkmoth waited for a few minutes more- he didn't need Chloe's butler bursting back in at her first scream- before straightening up and striding straight up to the balcony door, yanking it open with a squeal and a clatter.

_Ugh_. Clearly the mayor needed to get some better-quality doors on his hotel. _This_ was trash.

Chloe jumped in the air as she turned, phone in hand, and then she staggered backwards, her face draining of blood almost immediately. "Ha- Hawkmoth? Go away! Go _away!_"

The spike of fear was _lovely_. Never mind his other akuma, he should have brought a butterfly to corrupt _her_. But Hawkmoth didn't let that distract him. What-ifs never helped. "Chloe Bourgeois. Queen Bee. Give me your Miraculous."

"The- give you my-"

"The _Miraculous_," Hawkmoth pressed, his hand out as he took one large step closer. "We can do this the easy way, no need for any trouble needed. Or we could do this the hard way."

Chloe burst into tears. "I don't _have_ it! I never get to keep it after a fight is over, and you _know_ that! Leave me _alone!_"

Hawkmoth took a moment to assess her feelings. Chloe was scared, and that was the overwhelming mood. But she was angry, too, and there was no trace of deceit there.

Well. That made things harder. Apparently Nathalie's theory about Chloe keeping her Miraculous was incorrect.

"Where do you get it, then?" Hawkmoth demanded, determined to keep it from being a wasted trip. Maybe Chloe knew who the Guardian was. "Who gives your Miraculous to you?"

"Ladybug or Chat Noir, obviously." Chloe sniffed, trying her best to put on a brave face. It was pointless, of course, since he could feel her terror, but admirable all the same. "_Duh_."

"And where do they get it?"

Chloe's snort wasn't fake this time. "Why would they tell _me_ that? That would be dumb."

Hawkmoth struggled for a second, trying to find a new line of questioning that _wouldn't_ make him look like an incompetent idiot in front of a fourteen-year-old. "And you summon them how?"

"With my Bee-light, but they only come when they _want_ to come. Or else you would see me at every single fight that's not during the school day, _duh_." Chloe scowled at Hawkmoth. Then her eyes flicked to the side and she smirked, smugness suddenly taking over from the fear. "You can always ask them yourself, if you don't believe me."

Hawkmoth only had a second's warning to duck out of the way before a yo-yo sliced through the air where his head had been. Swearing, Hawkmoth fled, smashing his way through a window instead of trying to go out the balcony.

He wasn't going to fight, not now. He was going to be overwhelmed, and quickly.

Unsurprisingly, the superheroes followed him. Hawkmoth ran faster, wishing that _he_ had a weapon that let him move faster. He was getting run down, and unless Mayura appeared, he was going to get caught.

The purple feather floating towards him was, for once, welcome. He accepted it and welcomed the giant purple moth that appeared above his head. It pushed the superheroes back, giving him an opening to escape down to the Seine, where it was easy enough to find a sewer opening and work his ways into the catacombs under the city and back home.

It wasn't pleasant, but at least he still had his Miraculous.

* * *

Nathalie wasn't willing to give up on her idea so easily. Clearly she didn't believe his assessment of Chloe's feelings.

Which was _annoying_.

"Send out another akuma, then stake her out," Nathalie directed. "The superheroes took you by surprise last time. Take _them_ by surprise this time. And if they're dropping off a Miraculous, they're probably only doing it one at a time. Ambush, take the Bee, and take their Miraculous. Once the city is down to one experienced superhero, it'll be child's play to take them down."

Gabriel tried not to look _too_ doubtful. After all, Ladybug had fought akumas by herself before, and, well…

Chat Noir might have the claws, but when push came to shove, Ladybug's fighting was _terrifying_. She could and would use _anything_ to tangle up his akumas and defeat them. Where everyone else saw a desk chair or a garbage can, Ladybug saw a potential trap.

"Or we could kidnap her," Nathalie mused. "Demand a Miraculous to guarantee her safe return. Drop off a lock of her hair at City Hall every day that they wait. Our buffoon of a mayor would demand that they comply then."

Gabriel couldn't deny the shiver of terror that ran down his spine at the suggestion. _Kidnapping? _That was going too far. _Way_ too far. Nathalie was right, it would probably be effective, but it was too much.

And it was _dangerous. _The mayor would put pressure on the superheroes to _do something_ and fast, but he would also call on the entire police force to search for Chloe. And once she got returned, they would use anything and everything that she said to try to track him down.

Considering that Chloe was actually close to the family- well, really familiar with them, at least- it was too much of a risk to take.

Nathalie didn't look impressed when he brought all that up- well, everything except for his personal feelings about kidnapping, at least. "With great risk comes great reward."

"Or great failure," Gabriel reminded her. "I'd prefer to keep exploring our current improvements-" well, at least to a _point_\- "and see where they lead."

Nathalie scowled. "Emilie is declining by the day. You need to act quickly, and this would be quick."

"Yes, but-"

"You hesitate, and you lose," Nathalie snapped, her voice dripping with ice. "I have weighed the risk, and it is in our favor to kidnap her. We have access to the catacombs. We can store her there, not even in the house."

"I would prefer to try staking out her balcony and trying to steal her Miraculous at the point of delivery," Hawkmoth said quickly. "If we could work in tandem, perhaps, and have one of the Peacock's creatures to distract the superhero while I overwhelm Chloe, that would work well. Then it would be two against one for me taking either Ladybug or Chat Noir's Miraculous, while the akuma keeps the other one distracted."

Nathalie's lips curved up in the first smile that he had seen on her in a while. Still, it made him uneasy. It wasn't a _warm_ smile, not in the slightest. "That is the first decent suggestion that I've heard from you in a while. It will no doubt take some time, since Ladybug goes to the other temps first, but- hmm." She frowned in thought. "If you try to re-akumatize some of the akumas that Queen Bee was called out for before, or try to mimic some of the powers that made Ladybug and Chat Noir go for the Bee, then our chances of success are higher."

"I can do that."

Nathalie's nod was sharp. "See that you do. We don't need _more _of your ineptitude screwing up a perfectly good opportunity."

Gabriel winced at her razor-sharp tone. It held promises of punishment if he failed again. He suspected that the only reason that she _hadn't_ already taken him out of the fight herself was that he had more seniority with his Miraculous and had figured out how to increase its power (and how to _not_ be forced to detransform after five minutes) but hadn't told her yet. What little patience she had left was wearing thin, though, and it wasn't hard to imagine that she might snap if he made another mistake or kept turning down her ideas. The ideas that, well...

The worst part of all of this (well, besides having to navigate the minefield that Nathalie had become) was that-well, finding out that he wouldn't do _anything_ for his wife. Some of the ideas that Nathalie was pushing were _logical_ in that they would almost certainly produce positive results for him-

-but Gabriel just _couldn't. _

Never mind that all of this would get erased when he got his hands on the Miraculous and made his wish, he just _couldn't. _Maybe he could have when he was fresh off an experimental Peacock transformation- maybe he wouldn't have seen anything wrong then- but not now. Not when he still had _most_ of his humanity intact.

"We'll start in two days, barring the appearance of any _fantastic_ opportunities," Nathalie decided. "After yesterday's events, they'll likely be nervous about what else we have planned, if they're at all intelligent." She shot him a sharp look. "If they're more intelligent than _you_ are, at least, and that's hardly a high bar to meet."

Gabriel did his best not to sigh. "That's a plan, then."

* * *

Despite their best efforts and the toughest akumas they could think of, Ladybug and Chat Noir had yet to tap Chloe again to join them. Carapace had come out once, and Rena Rouge twice, and the original duo had handled all of the other akumas by themselves.

They were getting better. They were getting better, and Hawkmoth's legs were starting to feel cramped from spending so much time crouching on the top of the Grand Paris, waiting for any sign that Ladybug and Chat Noir might be coming over.

Thankfully he could generally figure out when they _weren't_, and he could sneak back to the house before the battle ended. There were a few close calls- either guests noticing someone in the bushes or a civilian glancing upwards as though they had noticed him leaping from hotel to the mansion- but nothing ever came of it.

Unfortunately, Nathalie's patience with making no progress was wearing out only a week and a half in. She wanted Gabriel to try something else on top of the staking out the Grand Paris. Her first suggestion (if it could be called a _suggestion_ and not a command) was that he make his akuma more dangerous, going back to her suggestion about catching civilians on the Eiffel Tower where they couldn't escape but this time not bothering with akumas that would simply freeze or trap them.

Gabriel frowned. "There could be deaths- scratch that, there _will_ be deaths if we do that. They'll vanish, of course, with either the Cure or changing the timeline, but-"

"It doesn't matter then, does it?" Nathalie demanded, her expression turning dark. "I thought you said that you would do anything for Emilie. Once you succeed, it'll all be erased."

"It's something that's important for _me_. A few accidental temporary deaths is… fine. Deliberately causing them…." Gabriel struggled to find the words to express what he wanted to say. Nothing came. Sure, he had long since accepted that there would sometimes be a few accidental, temporary deaths from the fights when people got too close, but _deliberately_ causing deaths? He couldn't do that, but he couldn't put the _why_ fully into words. "It's different. It makes me feel like I'm actually a supervillain instead of someone trying to save my wife. It- it just crosses that line. It makes me an _actual_ bad guy."

"As though all of Paris doesn't already consider you a bad guy."

"It makes a difference to _me_." Gabriel persisted, knowing that Nathalie wouldn't like that. Sure enough, there was a deep frown on her face.

"That's not logical."

Gabriel considered her for a moment before pulling out his best argument, one that had been floating in the back of his mind since Nathalie's descent into true heartlessness. "It's very likely that the more damage we do now- the more that has to be changed in the timeline- that the larger the cost of using the Ultimate Power will be."

Nathalie had no argument there. She turned away with a scoff, but Gabriel knew that she wasn't likely to just leave things be. No doubt she would brainstorm more plots and come back to him soon enough.

He wasn't wrong. The very next day, Nathalie had a new idea that he _had_ to carry out, or else.

"Go out and fight," Hawkmoth repeated blankly, staring at the plant in front of his face but not really seeing it. "What do you mean…?"

"I mean quit hiding, get _out_ there, and _fight_," Mayura snapped through his earpiece. "This is a hard akuma. It's taking enough of Ladybug and Chat Noir's attention that they can't get away, at least not at the moment. If you go, they'll be overwhelmed."

Hawkmoth's mind flashed back to Heroes Day, the first time he had gone out to do a bit of fighting on his own. He had nearly been defeated then…. but only after the three extra superheroes joined Ladybug and Chat Noir. Before that, _he_ had nearly defeated _them_. And he _would_ have, if not for his need to be smug first.

But then there was the second time when he had used Scarlet Moth. He hadn't even managed to land a hit on the superheroes- he hadn't even gotten _close_ to them- before they took him out and Stormy Weather had had to rescue him. But that had only happened because he hadn't been aware that there was another Miraculous out and he hadn't been watching his back. He wouldn't make that mistake again.

...he still couldn't shake the feeling of terror that everything was about to end for him.

"_Go_," Mayura insisted, enough ice in her voice that there was no denying that it was _not_ a request. It was an _order_. "Go, fight them, come back with the Miraculous. _Now_."

Hawkmoth went.

By the time he got to the akuma, Ladybug and Chat Noir had vanished and the akuma was going after his original target, terrorizing some rude customer. Hawkmoth resisted the urge to swear and turn tail.

They were going to get backup, he just knew it.

"What part of _do not let the superheroes out of your sight_ did you not understand?" he snapped at the akuma. "You should have kept them occupied."

"I spotted _this_ asshatand decided to take my revenge before Ladybug and Chat Noir could defeat me," the akuma shot back. "Who cares where they went? You promised that I could teach him for once and for all what happens when he's rude to customer service!"

Hawkmoth was strongly considering cracking this akuma over the head. It had been doing _so_ well, better than most of his other recent akumas, and now?

Now he was in danger.

"Problem, Mayura," Hawkmoth said, turning away from the akuma as he pressed the _talk_ button on his earpiece. "The akuma let Ladybug and Chat Noir out of his sight and now they're gone to get another person, maybe I should come back-"

"Don't even _think_ about it. Hide, wait for them to return, and launch a surprise attack. Get the newbie on their own and take them out so that we can have access to more powers and they don't have as many people to assist them. Ladybug and Chat Noir never get out more than one of the extras at a time for a single akuma attack, after all."

….well, the one upside of Nathalie being cold, calculating, and heartless was that she didn't let panic cloud her head. That was a very good suggestion, and it would mean that once again, the fight would be on _his_ terms, not the superheroes'. He could pick them off one by one, until he was left with three more Miraculous in his hand.

Then everything would go back to normal. The _old_ normal, the normal from over a year ago, not the more recent normal.

It wasn't a long wait before Hawkmoth spotted movement over the rooftops again. He hunkered down, making sure that no one on the street could see him and tip off the superheroes- not that there was anyone out anyway. There hadn't been anywhere near as many people hanging around near akuma fights lately, which could be a blessing or a pain depending an akuma's powers.

There were only two of them. Hawkmoth frowned, puzzled- and then his jaw _dropped_.

Ladybug and Chat Noir looked _different_, like they had two different costumes combined. It only took Hawkmoth a second to realize what was going on.

They were both wearing _two_ Miraculous.

Four Miraculous, four sets of powers. Hawkmoth couldn't recognize the other Miraculous at this distance, not that it really mattered that much. He hadn't been able to translate the grimoire, so while he knew that other Miraculous existed, he had no clue what their powers might be.

...well. he knew what he would be asking Nooroo tonight. Hawkmoth needed to know every detail of every Miraculous, and how being combined would affect them.

Ladybug charged into the fight first, and Hawkmoth nearly choked when he noticed the _sword_ in her hand. She wielded it with confidence, knocking away the akuma's blows. Chat Noir hung back, plucking away at _something_ round and green that he held in his hands.

The buzzing of his cane in his hand snapped Hawkmoth out of his shocked state. He looked down and winced almost immediately when he noticed Mayura's symbol on his communicator screen. Apparently she was getting impatient- and apparently he had accidentally been ignoring her attempts to get a hold of him via the earpiece.

"Are you moving into position now?"

"There's no newbie," Hawkmoth told her. "It's just the two of them, but they have extra powers on hand now."

"And the holdup is what, exactly? New powers don't matter if you catch them by surprise."

Hawkmoth's stomach dropped. He had hoped that Nathalie would see the sense in waiting, but clearly not. "If they've practiced…"

"They're not that smart."

….Hawkmoth frankly begged to differ, but he wasn't going to _say_ that.

"Can I get a Peacock backup first?" Hawkmoth asked. "To improve the odds?"

"It will take too long to do that. Ladybug and Chat Noir will have defeated the akuma by then if you don't get in there and _do_ something! I can send something, but you can't wait around for it."

Hawkmoth swallowed, straightening and pulling out his sword. "Of course. I'm going in now."

As he ran down the rooftop and jumped into the fray, immediately coming face-to-face with a fierce-looking Ladybug armed with a sword, only one thought could run through Hawkmoth's mind.

He really, _really_ hoped that this wasn't going to become the new norm.

* * *

_a/n: Next up: an interlude from the POV of Ladybug/Chat Noir! Yaaay not supervillain POV :D_

_Let me know what you think! Reviews always make my day :)_


	6. Ladybug and Chat Noir: Interlude

Akuma battles had gotten a _lot_ harder as of late.

It seemed that Hawkmoth was done messing around. Gone were the days of underpowered akumas and easy battles where Ladybug and Chat Noir could banter and laugh while fighting and defeating their opponent with relative ease. Gone were the times where it was at least _somewhat_ safe for civilians to hang around to watch. And gone were the fights that they could consistently handle all on their own, as a duo without backup.

It was not a pleasant change.

Even on the rare occasions when Hawkmoth _did_ send out a weaker akuma, Ladybug and Chat Noir had to be on guard in case Hawkmoth himself appeared behind them to try to surprise them. It had only happened a couple times- their opponent clearly didn't like risking his own neck, not when he could hide instead and rely on minions to try to do his dirty work- but it would only take one too-effective surprise attack for him to defeat them. Hawkmoth came out more often with the more difficult akumas, when it was harder for them to fight one opponent effectively while watching their backs at the same time.

Ladybug and Chat Noir had had to take a step back to restrategize shortly after Hawkmoth had started joining the fights so that they wouldn't get caught out on their own with no backup. It was too dangerous for them to enter a battle, only to realize that they would need another person and have to leave only one of them fighting while the other went to get the Miraculous for Alya, Nino, or Chloe. Instead, they started meeting up a ways back from the battle to get a visual and a feel for what powers the akuma had before they went in, so that if they felt like they might need backup, they could go get it right away instead of once they had engaged with the akuma and it knew where they were.

It helped, but not _enough_. Not enough to properly turn the battles back solidly and unquestionably in their favor from the start.

It didn't take long for them to figure out the fact that only having five minutes to wrap the fight up or get away after they used their powers was a liability, too, particularly when Hawkmoth was lingering nearby to attack them once the akuma was taken down. So naturally, Marinette went to Master Fu to see if he knew what Hawkmoth had been talking about on Heroes Day with eliminating the countdown timer.

Judging by Master Fu's wince, he did.

"The kwamis never like it much," he told her, pushing himself up off of the ground and leading the way back into his kitchen to pull the whistling teapot off of the heat. "It's very hard on them. The five-minute timer is a way to make sure that you don't overdraw your kwami's powers. So don't use this as a way to linger after fights for interviews and whatnot. Once the fight is done, make sure that the victim is all right and safe, and then move on and detransform."

"Of course," Marinette agreed at once. "I never like hanging around anyway. The reporters always ask the same questions, and I always have to get back to my _normal_ life. It's getting harder and harder to hide the fact that I'm gone for ages with the akuma attacks."

Master Fu nodded understandingly. "Yes, I've been watching the battles and they _do_ take up a good chunk of time nowadays. I'm afraid that I can't help you with that, but I _can_ help with the timer. There's a spell that you'll need to override it. It's fairly simple."

"And like Master Fu said, you use it with the understanding that you won't abuse the extra time. If you've used your powers and the akuma has moved on, then find a safe place to detransform and recharge!" Wayzz chimed in. "Poor Nooroo is going to be _exhausted_ after all of this is over if Hawkmoth has just been keeping him trapped for the entire fight instead of detransforming and recharging! You don't want that to happen to Tikki or Plagg."

"Of course," Marinette said hastily. "It's just that the timers have lead to some _really_ close calls recently, and we'd rather that that not happen."

Master Fu nodded as he lifted his teakettle off of the stove and started pouring two cups. "Exactly. We just want to drive home the point that the five-minute limit was _not_ put in place for no reason at all." He passed Marinette her cup of tea, then gestured for her to lead the way back into the main room. "We can discuss the spell and also other changes you might make while we enjoy our tea."

Marinette went.

"Master, I sense someone coming," Wayzz said suddenly as Marinette settled down. "Chat Noir has decided to come visit, too."

"Marinette, please transform and close your eyes," Master Fu instructed. "I'll have Chat Noir come in and transform, too. This is actually for the better, so that you two can brainstorm together."

In a flash of light, Ladybug replaced Marinette on the floor. She squeezed her eyes tightly shut as Master Fu headed over to open the door. She heard the door open and did her best to resist flinching.

No matter how long she was a superhero, she would never be _not_ curious about who her partner was. But it wasn't _safe_ for them to know, not with Hawkmoth around.

"Greetings, Chat Noir," Master Fu said cheerfully. "Ladybug is already here, so I'll just have you step in and transform."

"Wha- oh! Ladybug!" Chat Noir sounded delighted. There was some hasty shushing, and then, quieter- "Right! Plagg, transform me!"

Master Fu laughed. "All right. It's safe to look now, Ladybug."

"And safe to hear, too, right?" Ladybug opened her eyes and gave her sheepish partner a Look. He could only shrug in return. Sighing (Chat Noir was _such_ a dork), Ladybug refocused on Master Fu. "Okay, so we were starting with the spell for keeping the countdown timer from starting, right?"

"Right. And I was driving in the importance of _not_ staying transformed after those five minutes unnecessarily. It puts stress on the kwamis, which we would rather avoid." He smiled at Chat Noir. "And it would no doubt spur more begging for cheese from Plagg."

Chat Noir groaned loudly.

"And then after that, we want to discuss other changes to the fights," Master Fu continued, clearly trying not to smile. "After all, we want the city's superheroes to be doing the absolute best job possible, and for your fights to be effective as possible to ensure that you aren't missing _too_ much of your normal lives."

Ladybug nodded, mind already whirring as she tried to think of any of the things that she had noticed that slowed them down or didn't make them fight quite as efficiently. She was still thinking about it as Master Fu taught them the extension spell, and it was a good thing that the spell wasn't that difficult because otherwise she might have had trouble remembering it, with as distracted as she was. As soon as Master Fu pulled out a notepad to take notes during their improvements brainstorming session, she was ready.

"It's hard to get back here undetected when we need to call in another user," Ladybug said immediately, starting with their most obvious problem. "Even though we've been trying to make sure that we make the decision if we'll need someone else before we ever enter the fight. And each trip that we make over here while transformed- well, that puts _you_ in more danger, and then we have to find somewhere to detransform and then transform again."

Master Fu nodded thoughtfully as he wrote that down. "That _is_ true."

"It's the same thing if we want to use a combo Miraculous," Chat Noir chimed in. "And it adds time to each fight, which, well... my attendance record at school doesn't particularly appreciate that."

"That _is_ an issue," Master Fu agreed. He exchanged a glance with Wayzz, then turned back to them. "And Wayzz and I have actually discussed this before, so even though I'm not _entirely_ happy with what we came up with, I _do_ have a suggestion."

Ladybug sat up, interested. The reluctance in Master Fu's voice made her think that he was going to suggest a _large_ change, something more than a small tweak. The last time he had sounded like that was when she first wanted to call a third person into temporary service, something that had been a _huge_ help in those fights and played a key role in defeating the akumas.

"You two have picked out a couple Miraculous that you like combining with your own at this point," Master Fu started. "You have tested out combos and found what works best. And you have a set handful of people that you know that you can call on. I propose that you choose two to three Miraculous to keep on hand and guard. You know now how to access things in your civilian bags from your weapons, so you could get to them without detransforming."

Ladybug nodded, but she couldn't deny how nervous the idea made her. Guarding one Miraculous could be nerve-wracking enough, even though she had more or less gotten used to it by now. Guarding two or three more- and she _knew_ she would probably go for three, because it would be more efficient and she liked having options- and having them out in fights with her?

_Yikes_.

"I think I would only be comfortable with one more Miraculous," Chat Noir admitted right away. "But I suppose that I should take two, one for a combo for me and one for one of our temps."

Master Fu nodded. "Understandable. I _would_ like to say that I prefer to keep the Turtle with me," he added. "Wayzz and I talk all the time about the battles and any potential leads, and I don't think I would be as effective without him. Ladybug, you have my number. If you determine that you _need_ the Turtle, let me know and I'll try to meet you somewhere out of the way."

Ladybug nodded. "Understood."

"I think I'll take the Bee and the Snake, then," Chat Noir decided after a moment's thought. "And yes, I know I have to be careful when delivering the Bee. Maybe I can put her phone number into my staff so that we can arrange different meeting places each time."

"And I'll take the Fox, the Dragon, and, uh, the Mouse," Ladybug said, nodding decisively. "Though I might try out the Tiger at some point."

Chat Noir perked up, grinning toothily at her. "My Bug, becoming a cat like me? _Me_-wow!"

"I'm interested in the claws, that's all." Ladybug made a swiping motion at her partner's shoulder. "I think they would be fun."

"Maybe you can take the Tiger first and give it a try right away," Master Fu suggested. "Then come back if you decide that you want to switch after all."

Ladybug nodded.

"I will have some security boxes commissioned, then," Master Fu told them. "And I will put them on rush order. After all, I don't feel comfortable sending any other Miraculous out until they have _some_ extra layer of protection."

Ladybug nodded, pushing away the urge to suggest that she make the boxes. After all, she _had_ made her diary box, and it had certainly done a good job at keeping her diary safe from Chloe and Sabrina. But that was just made of wood, and it wouldn't stand a chance against a supervillain's fury. She also didn't exactly need anything more added to her already-overflowing plate.

...she wanted to see the process of making the boxes, honestly. It would be _really_ cool to see all of the moving parts that went into something like that.

"So we'll have probably a week more of fights where we'll have to keep on doing what we've been doing," Chat Noir summed up. "Or more."

"Hopefully only one." Master Fu smiled at them. "I'll make sure that the boxes get put on the rush order list. And there might end up being two- a temporary one, and then one modeled more after my own box so that it doesn't look quite so suspicious." He gestured towards the record player. "Though smaller, of course, and personalized for each of you. Ladybug, I might have you design the wood carvings."

Ladybug perked up at once. "Of course!"

"Okay, then, more ideas?" Master Fu said after a moment, clearly deciding that _that_ particular topic was more or less exhausted. "Because I have a few."

* * *

Hawkmoth clearly hadn't expected Ladybug and Chat Noir to have found out the secret to an extended transformation. He had dropped in on them right as a battle ended, when the two of them would have had two minutes left before their detransformations, and they had turned on him in unison.

Two minutes passed, then three, and four. Ladybug had seen the moment when Hawkmoth noticed her earrings and all of the spots still on them. His expression _dropped_.

Chat Noir pressed their advantage, extending his baton and cracking Hawkmoth over the head with all of the strength he could manage. Hawkmoth staggered, then turned and _fled_. They pursued him, at least until the now-familiar purple moth appeared out of nowhere, throwing them off just long enough for Hawkmoth to vanish into the streets below.

"That's so annoying," Chat Noir groaned when a couple minutes of searching turned nothing up. "We would have had him."

"Yeah, he would be _so_ done without Mayura," Ladybug agreed. She reached up to her ear. "But I think he's gone this time. We should go, too."

Chat Noir nodded. "Yeah. I can't wait until we get the extra Miraculous and can pull in more people."

"I wanna try out claws," Ladybug announced, grinning at the pink that appeared on Chat Noir's cheeks. He always got flustered when she brought up wearing the Tiger Miraculous, and she was determined to enjoy it while it lasted. "But I think we better go right now, kitten. We don't want our kwamis to get worn out."

"Good point." Chat Noir held his fist out for Ladybug to pound. "See you next time."

"Of course."

Ladybug swung away, making sure to check over her shoulders that she wasn't being followed. Once she landed and detransformed, she hurried down the road. On the way home, she passed a community gym that she had taken a few free fighting lessons at over the summer, and out of curiosity, she peered in. In the main gym, self-defense classes were going on, the instructor leading the group through a set of practiced moves. Marinette watched for a couple seconds, then turned her attention to the schedule posted by the door.

Once upon a time, she had planned on taking more classes there so that she could improve her fighting skills. While her yo-yo was very, _very_ useful, it wasn't always _nearly_ as good for close combat as Chat Noir's staff, even if she had been practicing, and she only sometimes had a dual transformation that gave her a more close-range weapon. But between the unpredictable akuma attacks that could have her missing classes and her complete and utter lack of free time thanks to the more intense attacks, it just wasn't a practical idea.

"It's too bad they don't have yo-yo fighting classes!" Tikki giggled as Marinette turned and headed back down to the sidewalk to go home. "That would be helpful!"

Marinette smiled at that. "I think I've learned pretty much all of the yo-yo tricks in the books. The hand-to-hand and staff fighting is what I'm more interested in. That, and using a sword."

"Longg can teach you more about that, if you take her out for long enough," Tikki told her. "You could always use us as a combo in fights even if the extra boost isn't needed, just for the practice. Or you could go watch Adrien's fencing classes!"

"Watching can only take me so far." Marinette paused to wait for a crosswalk signal, glancing around to make sure that she wasn't overheard. "I need to actually learn how to do it. Hacking away like a crazy lady can only take me so far."

Learning how to fight under pressure, like she had for most of her time as Ladybug, had taken her _really_ far. Still, it could only do so much before she started plateauing. And right now, she could _not_ afford to plateau. Not with Hawkmoth and Mayura upping their game and trying different attacks with practically every fight.

"I've been thinking- once we reach winter break, I might try actually signing up for some of the classes. Even if they can't cover much over the break, every little bit helps."

Tikki beamed. "I'm proud of you, Marinette! You're really taking the initiative here."

"I just hope it's enough. After akuma battles had stayed the same for so long, I didn't expect for Hawkmoth to step it up like this." Marinette glanced up in time to see the crosswalk sign change, so she continued on her way. "And I don't want to let Paris down. But for now, I need to do my homework and then work on the defensive spell that Master Fu taught Chat Noir and I. I need to be ready to use it, if he's correct and Hawkmoth _does_ know any curses."

She had a packed schedule, that was for sure. But her parents had more business than usual- perhaps because the rapidly cooling weather had people seeking out sweet treats to cheer them up- and so they were busier, too, and weren't likely to notice her sudden uptick in things to do.

Thankfully they hadn't asked for her help down in the bakery, instead giving more hours to several of their bakery workers. Perhaps they _had_ picked up on the fact that she had a lot of work to do. The fact that all of her design projects had been put on hold was probably a pretty good give-away, now that Marinette thought about it.

She was going to _flatten_ Hawkmoth if he didn't lay off enough before Christmas for her to be able to finish her gifts. At least she had started over summer break and there was still a month and a half. Still, normally Marinette tried to be finished several weeks in advance, and she still had _so_ much to do.

Tikki beamed. "That sounds like such a good plan, Marinette! But... didn't you say something about playing video games with Adrien later this afternoon?"

Marinette yelped, her stroll becoming a sprint almost instantly. "I forgot about that! And I still need to clean my room, too, because I left laundry _everywhere_ this morning!"

Tikki giggled as her frazzled holder wove through crowds of puzzled pedestrians. No matter how much some things changed, other things had a tendency to stay the same no matter what.

* * *

Having more Miraculous with them made a _huge_ difference from the start.

Gone were the days when they had to try to lose the akuma (and sometimes even Hawkmoth himself) in order to get away and detransform, then get to Fu's place and get the Miraculous before re-transforming and finding Alya or Nino or Chloe, sometimes adding an extra thirty minutes to the fight. Now they just had to duck away for a minute to pull a Miraculous out of their respective weapons and then find the holder they wanted before rushing right back in to the fight. If they were calling in Queen Bee, there wasn't even a need for them to hide on the way there. Getting out an extra Miraculous for their own use went even faster, with them only having to duck around a corner briefly to hide from both akuma and public so that no one picked up on the fact that they had more Miraculous with them all the time.

(Chat Noir couldn't help but wonder why Ladybug had gone for three extra Miraculous when she seemed to favor her Dragon Bug combination so much. Despite all of her teasing, he had yet to see Tiger Bug appear on the battlefield.

...maybe that was a good thing. Seeing his Ladybug with claws and a tail might be a bit of a distraction.

And _cat ears._ He wasn't positive that he would survive the cat ears. It would be too much _cute_ all at once.)

Hawkmoth had stepped up his game, and the superheroes had stepped up in return. Chat Noir didn't want to brag, of course, but with their improvements- getting rid of the limitations of their timers, the readily available extra powers, the _spell_ that they were both mastering, the potion that Master Fu had found for when they were exhausted and still needed to fight- they were back to taking down akumas within their old timeframe. That was definitely a comfort to Paris, especially after the scare that Hawkmoth had given Chloe and the increasingly dangerous and brutal akuma attacks. They needed to see their superheroes decisively coming out on top again.

Still, not everything was going quite as well as they wanted. Mayura was a pain in their side, one that neither Ladybug nor Chat Noir (or Master Fu) knew quite how to fully address yet. It was hard to, since they never came out, and they didn't know what powers of the Peacock's Mayura had been able to figure out beyond her main one. Master Fu had mentioned some of the possibilities, of course, but they had only ever seen Mayura use the giant moth monster.

That they were seeing it so frequently was troubling, actually. According to Master Fu, the Peacock was cursed, with Duusu stuck in limbo and the Miraculous extracting a price every time it was used. But whoever Mayura was didn't seem to care about that at all.

"Hawkmoth spotted," Queen Bee said suddenly, breaking Chat Noir out of his thoughts. She was hovering above them- after several months of occasionally going out, she had added wings to her costume- and frowning. "Uh, can you take him and I'll focus on the akuma?"

Chat Noir glanced at her. Under the mask, she was pale. Clearly she hadn't quite fully recovered from having Hawkmoth visit her in her room. "Yeah, sure. I'll hold him off until you and Ladybug can get the akuma down." He grinned and flexed his hand, letting the claws extend and glint in the sun. After several hours of messing around (and more rounds of Camembert than he cared to think about), he had _finally_ managed to unlock that particular ability. With the new claws, he could do something similar to a mini-Cataclysm, destroying something small without draining Plagg. Hawkmoth's little sword fit that 'small' description _perfectly_. "Don't drag it out for too long, though. We don't exactly want to be split up."

Queen Bee nodded sharply. "Right. Got it!"

Chat Noir smiled to himself as he raced away from Queen Bee and Ladybug and towards Hawkmoth. It really seemed that Chloe had settled down into her superhero role now. She had become a good fighter, and was learning to use her trompo like Ladybug used her yo-yo. And then his partner had learned how to extend her yo-yo into a staff like his only the day before (though hers was only a set length instead of ever-extending) and fight with that, so she could more or less shift into his usual role with fighting the akuma, even without pulling the Dragon into use.

She was better at dodging than he was, which was _definitely_ a good thing.

He met Hawkmoth on the top of a small cafe, tugging his lips into a snarl as he gave the first blow. Like always, he had to give the fight his all to make sure that the supervillain didn't get any lucky blows in. Hawkmoth was older, taller, and heavier, meaning that he was harder to simply trip up or hit aside. But Chat Noir was younger and lighter on his feet, not to mention more experienced in battle. That kept them fairly evenly matched, and so Chat Noir had to bring his A-game.

So he did. His baton countered every one of Hawkmoth's strikes, and when he had an opening, his claws extended and slashed. He caught Hawkmoth across the arm, and the supervillain yelped as four long scratches appeared across his upper arm. Chat Noir pressed his advantage, until he spotted Ladybug and Queen Bee getting flung through the air out of the corner of his eye. He frowned, then let out a yelp of his own as the akuma barreled into him from behind. By the time he had gotten back on his feet, Hawkmoth was gone.

_Coward_. It happened the same way every time. As soon as it was clear that the battle was not going his way, Hawkmoth fled. He used Mayura or his akuma as a distraction, then tucked his (metaphorical) tail between his legs and _ran_.

But Hawkmoth couldn't run forever. The city's superheroes were getting better and better by the day. One of these times, Ladybug and Chat Noir would anticipate and avoid all of Hawkmoth's distraction techniques, and the supervillain would go down in flames.

Of that, Chat Noir was _positive_.

* * *

_a/n: Back to Mr. Agreste's POV for the next chapter! How bad have things gotten on his end?_

_As always, reviews make my day!_


	7. Gabriel Part 4: Turning Point

Gabriel was _not_ having a good day.

He hadn't had a good day in a while, he reflected as he watched his latest akuma get his tail (literally) handed to him. Despite his best attempts, the akuma had ended up underpowered and underwhelming.

Nathalie hadn't even bothered to check in on him or issue any directions for the akuma to carry out for once. Clearly she saw it as the lost cause that it was and had decided to focus on her work. She would greet him with scathing silence as soon as he stepped foot back in the office.

"This is getting _worse_," Hawkmoth grumbled as soon as he felt the power from his akuma release. He had long since given up on the dramatic monologues at the end of the battles. Before, he had done that to amp himself up and keep his spirits up for the next fight. Now…

Well, he just didn't have the energy. The akuma attacks had been dragging on for over a year now and he wasn't any closer to winning and curing Emilie. Gabriel was stressed all the time, and it was no wonder. Between his constantly failing akuma, Nathalie's increasingly iron-handed rule and the need to keep her change secret from Adrien, being sent out to battle the increasingly powerful superheroes himself, and Emilie's condition, it was… well, a lot.

It was no wonder that he was descending into the underground lair more and more often, trying to get away from- well, not trying to get away from it _all_, since Emilie was down there, but trying to get away from _most_ of it. The slow beeping of the monitor kept him from ever forgetting for long how very ill Emilie was now.

She had been declining ever since she fell into the magical coma, there was no denying that. But ever since Nathalie had started transforming- and _especially_ since Nathalie had gone heartless and the transformations got more frequent- the decline had sped up. Now Gabriel worried that one day he would go down and be greeted by silence.

Having the Miraculous and casting his wish would reverse that, of course. But the fact was that there was a price to using the Ladybug and Black Cat together to get a wish, and if Emilie actually died then he worried that the price would be higher.

With the press of a few buttons, Gabriel headed straight from the attic lair to the basement one. He stepped out into the space, pausing to make sure that there was still beeping before making a beeline to the small park bathed in pale sunlight.

Emilie still slept, pale and still as ever.

"Emilie, I failed again," Gabriel told her, reaching out to gather up the flowers that lay near her feet. They had wilted already. It seemed that none of the bouquets that he got for Emilie ever lasted, no matter what he did. Whether it was something in the lair itself or simply the magic that surrounded Emilie, Gabriel didn't know. "This akuma was _awful_. It didn't even make the slightest threat to Ladybug and Chat Noir. They didn't pull out any of their extra powers, and the fight was over before it had even started."

Emilie didn't respond. Gabriel sighed as he pushed open the glass cover, reaching in to squeeze Emilie's hand. Once upon a time, she would have reflexively squeezed back.

It had been a long time since then.

He couldn't stay with Emilie for too long. Gabriel knew from experience that if he lingered, Nathalie would get angry with him for spending too much time dreaming and not enough _doing_.

It wasn't _fair_ for her to accuse him of that. How many men in Paris could say that they would be willing to become a supervillain and dabble in magic in order to move heaven and earth to save her? Not many. Just because he hadn't been _successful_ yet…

Some days, Gabriel worried that he had missed his window of opportunity. If he had figured out how to boost an akuma's powers earlier on, before Ladybug and Chat Noir started pulling in help and combining powers, then it would have been easier to win. If he had gone out himself then, maybe he could have tipped the balance in his favor.

But now Ladybug and Chat Noir were experienced fighters with an array of powers on hand, and whenever he came out then _they_ could slip away and get another person, keeping two of them fighting the akuma while one of the more experienced fighters held him off. They could kick back the akuma enough for some breathing room if Hawkmoth managed to overpower whoever was fighting him, which was _mortifying_.

They were two teens, Gabriel could tell that much. They shouldn't be outfighting and outmaneuvering him. But they _were_.

Nathalie simply sent him a disgusted look when Gabriel returned to the office. Gabriel tried not to look affected as he returned to his desk, pulling out a bag of Nooroo's snacks, but he couldn't help but wonder what kinds of _improvements_ Nathalie was dreaming up for the next attack. No doubt she would have him going out more again, as punishment for the weak akuma.

He couldn't simply recall the akuma, she had to know that. It drained Nooroo, and then the second akuma villain wouldn't be anywhere near as powerful as the first. They had _tried_ that, and it had failed. The best he could do was detransform, recharge, and try again, hoping that the first supervillain had worn Ladybug and Chat Noir down. He would be on high alert for the rest of the day for that very reason.

The rest of the afternoon dragged by. Gabriel was always aware of where Nathalie was, and it was _exhausting_. He could feel invisible eyes judging him, sizing him up, and her icy judgment clogged the room. By the time Adrien came home, Gabriel was glad for the excuse to leave the increasingly oppressive room for a few minutes to update Adrien on a few events that were coming up and inquire about any projects or tests at school that might require more leeway in his schedule.

And Adrien seemed happy enough to provide that distraction. He lit up when Gabriel inquired about school, and soon enough was prattling on about some review game that he had played in one of his classes. Gabriel tried not to sigh in boredom (after all, what did he care about some silly classroom study game?), since as soon as Adrien picked up on any sort of exasperation he would stop talking and Gabriel would have to return to the office with Nathalie.

Was it bad for Gabriel to only be accommodating Adrien because it benefited himself? Maybe. But this whole mess had only happened because Gabriel was trying to make their family whole again, and _that_ would have made Adrien happy.

He preferred to think of it as short-term selfish, long-term selfless. Besides, did it _really_ matter _why_ Gabriel was doing it, if it made Adrien happy?

Still, Adrien's story didn't last long enough. He caught himself and brought the story to a quick end before heading off to his room, shouldering his school bag and hurrying along to get started on his homework. Gabriel waited until he heard Adrien's door close before heading back into the office.

A file folder waited on his desk. Gabriel resisted the urge to sigh when he noticed that _no_, it wasn't company-related. Instead, it was another copy of the extensive spreadsheet of potential power-ups and improvements that he could make, this time with several areas highlighted.

He had to do better next time and push both himself and the akuma to the max. If he didn't, Gabriel didn't even want to know what Nathalie would do. There had been too many failures lately, too many mistakes, and it was wearing on what little patience she still had.

He had to _be_ better, before her iron hand came down on him even harder.

* * *

This akuma was decent. It had good superpowers and seemed to have a good mind for fighting. Hawkmoth smiled as he watched the news feed. Ladybug and Chat Noir seemed to be on the defensive, trying to keep the akuma contained but not quite succeeding.

"Good," Mayura said, appearing behind Hawkmoth. His smile promptly vanished. Her tone was anything _but_ good. "The akuma is doing well. Go help it."

There was no arguing with Mayura. Hawkmoth nodded, jumping up to the hole in the window and pulling himself out. Before he could leave, though, Mayura spoke again.

"Put in your earpiece before you get too far away. I'll direct."

Hawkmoth nodded, but he couldn't help the way that his stomach dropped. Whenever Mayura took over as the director of a fight, it meant that the fight would be rougher than it would be otherwise. She saw retreat as only an emergency option, pushing him until he had nothing else to give. He should have gone out on his own terms as soon as he saw his akuma doing well.

He hadn't even realized before- back when he was in control of his own akumas and the battles- how much he enjoyed the security of knowing that he could stop the attacks from going too far and could quit any time. Now, there was no backing out when things started going sideways.

Hawkmoth had two options now: succeed, or go down in flames and spend the rest of his life in jail.

"I'll watch all of the footage and let you know where the superheroes are and what the akuma is doing. It'll not always be in your view." Mayura waved him off. "Now _go_, before Ladybug and Chat Noir figure out how to counter the akuma."

Hawkmoth went. He circled around so that he wouldn't be coming directly from the mansion- even Mayura could agree that _that_ was important- and then went directly for Ladybug as she raced up behind his akuma.

Wait, no- not _Ladybug_, exactly_._ _Dragon Bug_, Ladybug's apparent favorite Miraculous combo. The one that gave her a _sword_.

Maybe she wasn't trained with the weapon, but that didn't stop her from being a _incredibly _fierce fighter with it.

"You didn't warn me that Ladybug had added a Miraculous!" Hawkmoth snapped into his earpiece. "When did she leave?"

"The feed didn't show that," Mayura snapped right back at him. "But she couldn't have been gone for long- a minute at most. Which doesn't make sense- they're _nowhere_ near where they were the last time when they got extra Miraculous and were only gone for a minute. The Guardian must be meeting them."

"He's got to be around here, then. I could look for him-"

"Don't bother. He could be _anyone_, and he could be wearing a disguise."

"I have a name, though-"

"If you think that someone like that wouldn't be using an alias, you're an idiot. Stop waiting around and _get in there_."

Hawkmoth nodded, though Mayura couldn't see him. Seconds later, he plunged into the fight.

Ladybug noticed him first, yelling a warning to Chat Noir before charging straight at Hawkmoth. Their swords crossed with enough force to make his jaw rattle, and then she was pushing him back, fire in her eyes. He tried to knock her aside- it shouldn't have been _hard_, he had done it before- but she stood firm, countering all of his blows.

She had been training, it was undeniable. Gabriel wished that _he_ could improve that quickly, but he just didn't have the time. She was actually pushing him _back_ now, even though she was a good head and a half- if not _two_ heads- shorter than he was.

That was actually _infuriating_ when he thought about it that way. She was a tiny bug to be tossed to the side, and instead she was standing firm in her attack and in his way of reaching his goal.

It wasn't long before he noticed a blue feather floating towards them, and Hawkmoth accepted it eagerly, this time envisioning his protector taking the shape of a peacock. A peacock could peck and bite and flap its wings, not just blow the superheroes around like the moth did.

A gigantic blue peacock swirled into being, and both Ladybug and Chat Noir swore. Hawkmoth _smirked_.

Victory, here he came.

Seamlessly, Ladybug and Chat Noir switched places, the cat headed for Hawkmoth while Ladybug turned her focus to the akuma and the peacock. Hawkmoth couldn't deny that Chat Noir was a good fighter- and he _also_ couldn't deny that the change in fighting style threw him off, just a bit- and so he had to put his full attention on the superhero, ignoring whatever was going on with the rest of the fight.

Which meant that he was surprised when the akuma fled and suddenly Ladybug was tussling with the peacock, her outfit changed again to something that was half-dotted, half striped. She leapt up onto the peacock's back and it squawked, thrashing around to try to throw her off. Several more seconds of wrestling, and it dissolved in blue smoke with a final screech.

_How_.

Chat Noir threw Hawkmoth back, and he stumbled as he landed. The superheroes were racing off after the akuma, and Hawkmoth gave chase. He pressed his earpiece. "Mayura, your protector has been defeated."

"I know that, I felt it." Mayura sounded displeased. "Birds are vulnerable to a cat's claws, unfortunately."

"But _Ladybug_ was the one to take it down," Hawkmoth objected. He frowned, trying to think of the other Miraculous that he had seen in the grimoire. "The Tiger! Somehow, she switched from a Ladybug-Dragon combo to a Ladybug-Tiger combo."

"And she switched quickly," Mayura commented. "The Guardian _must_ live nearby. I'll start assembling a list of people residing in the area."

"Fantastic."

"And don't let this opportunity slip away. Go after the superheroes and take them down."

If the words hadn't been delivered with such ice, they might have actually been encouraging. Instead, they sat like lead on his shoulders, the unspoken threat hanging in the air above his head.

_Succeed, or we'll do something else. Something terrible._

He wished that he had locked the Peacock Miraculous away, so this hadn't happened at all. More and more often, he was feeling trapped between a rock and a hard place.

He had to keep ceding to Nathalie's methods out of self-preservation, but doing so was putting him in a precarious situation. All it would take was _one_ fight where he didn't get his backup in time and he could get caught and hauled off to jail in an instant.

Up ahead, Ladybug (Ladycat? Did she always change her name with dual Miraculous? He neither knew nor cared) and Chat Noir had slowed down, likely to discuss how to approach the situation. Their heads were together, two sets of cat ears nearly brushing up against each other as they talked. Hawkmoth crept closer, hoping for a sneak attack. Before he jumped, he paused to listen. Perhaps they were discussing something important, like where the Guardian lived, or their strategy for what they were going to do next. Something he could use to bring this entire mess to an _end_.

"-don't understand how the Peacock can be out so much and so often, and for so _long_. The curse should be stopping that."

"Maybe they figured out how to break it," Ladybug suggested. "Or they know how to fix the effects. The Guardian said that neither is hard to do, if you know how to do it. I was _just_ talking to him, and he's talking about finding all the ingredients so that he can do the cure as soon as we take Hawkmoth and Mayura down- _if_ it's needed, that is."

Hawkmoth's eyes widened. He knew that the curse could be broken- or he had suspected, at any rate- but there was someone out there that knew the _cure?_ Someone who could save Emilie?

It was the out that he hadn't even fully realized that he wanted. That he _needed_.

Before he was fully aware of it, Hawkmoth was pouncing on Ladybug, _desperate_ for the information. She knew the one person in the world who could help Emilie. He couldn't let her get away.

Ladybug _screamed_, and Hawkmoth was vaguely aware of a yell and an enraged hiss before claws dug into his shoulder, tearing through suit and skin and trying to rip him off of Ladybug. Hawkmoth held on for several seconds, until Chat Noir's claws threatened to rip entirely through a muscle. He let go and was promptly flung back several meters, his hand going to his wound. Behind him, he was vaguely aware of his sword-cane clattering away.

Chat Noir crouched protectively over his partner, a snarl on his face as he hugged Ladybug to him. The rattled look on her face was fading fast, but Hawkmoth didn't miss the way that she clung to her partner with the hand not braced on the ground. She was still rattled, but just managing to hide it.

"Stay _away_ from her!" Chat Noir snarled. "Don't you _dare_ touch her."

"I didn't mean to hurt her!" Hawkmoth said quickly, before Chat Noir could pounce and attack again. The way his right hand curled and flexed suggested that the superhero was seriously considering using his Cataclysm and, well, there would be no coming back from that. He needed to talk _fast_, before Chat Noir decided that his partner was secure enough for him to go after Hawkmoth. "I didn't- you said that you knew a cure for the Peacock's curse. A cure for the effects. I need to know it."

"And what makes you think that we're going to help Mayura?" Chat Noir challenged, crouching lower over Ladybug. "Clearly she's doing just fine, considering that this is the third time this week that we've seen her powers in play."

Hawkmoth shook his head. "Not- not for her. Well, for her eventually, she's going to need the help, she didn't know what she was doing when she took up the Peacock, but- it's for my wife. She used the Peacock to keep evil at bay for years- and she used Body. She used it too much." He took a deep breath to try to steady himself. It didn't help much. Chat Noir still looked ready to rip him to pieces, but Ladybug's gaze had turned considering. "And you said that you- that you knew how to cure the effects of the curse."

Ladybug nodded. Her grip on Chat Noir had turned less desperate and more steadying, holding him back. "We know someone who knows that, yes."

Hawkmoth nodded and swallowed again. "I- I just want my wife back. I want her to not be in a coma anymore. That's- that's all I want. That's why I've been trying to get the Miraculous."

Ladybug's eyes narrowed at him, expression turning dubious. "That's _all? _Somehow I have some trouble believing that. The kwamis said that you wanted to control _all_ of them. You wouldn't need all of them to bring your wife back."

"I- I don't know _how_ to get her back," Hawkmoth pleaded, keeping one eye on Chat Noir's still-flexing hand and the other on Ladybug's yo-yo, which had one clawed hand resting over it. "I thought one might know how to do it, or at the very least having the power of all of them would be able to point me to someone who _could_ figure it out. Or that having more powers would let me win, so I could get my wish."

Chat Noir glanced at Ladybug. Ladybug looked supremely unconvinced.

"I used Heart a few times to try to see if I could figure out the curse," Hawkmoth admitted, figuring that honesty was probably his best bet right now. He didn't want to appear vulnerable, but if it would get Emilie back and get him out of this mess... well, his pride could take a blow. Better his pride than his _life_. "Including shortly before Sandboy. The 'grab all the power I can and raze the world to help her' approach seemed reasonable at the time."

"I don't trust you," Ladybug decided after a few more seconds of internal deliberation. She held out a hand for her partner to pull her up. "Kitty, c'mere for a second-"

Hawkmoth waited anxiously as Ladybug and Chat Noir retreated a few meters and whispered back and forth, both of them keeping an eye trained on him. He wasn't going to run off, not when they knew someone who knew how to cure Emilie.

"We will try to help," Ladybug announced after a tense couple minutes had passed. "Under a couple conditions."

Hawkmoth nodded. He would agree to _anything_ to get the help right now. He had no interest in continuing the way he was, crushed under Nathalie's heartless direction. Even if he might have won eventually- and that was doubtful, actually, since the superheroes were getting _crazy_ good and he and Nathalie just couldn't keep up- he wanted this done _now_. He had spotted an out, and end to all of this madness, and he was going to grab it in both hands and not let go. "Of course."

"We need to know your identity, and Mayura's," Chat Noir chimed in. "But our identities, and that of our mentor, stay secret. Any traps, and I Cataclysm the whole place- wherever we are- to the ground."

Hawkmoth nodded. "Of course."

"We're still going to turn you over to the police in the end," Ladybug continued. "What they decide to do from there is up to them."

Hawkmoth cringed. Still, if it came down to some jail time in exchange for getting Emilie back and not having to exist under Nathalie's rule- not having to worry for his _life_… "Understood."

Suddenly, the earpiece in his right ear crackled to life, and Hawkmoth startled. "Where are you? The akuma is heading towards the Eiffel Tower and I'm not seeing you _or_ the superheroes anywhere! Get in there and _fight!_"

"I- I've been disarmed," Hawkmoth responded quickly, fumbling for the earpiece. It was true enough, after all- his sword-stick had been tossed to the side. "I'm making a strategic retreat-"

He could feel Mayura's displeasure. "Do better."

"I will- I mean-"

"Retreat, detransform, recharge, and _get back in there!_" Mayura demanded. "You'll get your sword back then."

"Right- of course-"

"And I shouldn't have to _tell_ you these things anymore," Mayura continued, anger clear in her voice. "_Do better._"

The connection went dead.

"So I suppose that I should, uh…" Hawkmoth trailed off, suddenly a little less sure. If he revealed himself , that was it. Even if Ladybug and Chat Noir's method failed, he would be going to jail. They could be lying to him right now, just to get the fighting to end. He couldn't trust them.

Except they hadn't known about his situation before, when they were talking about the curse on the Peacock. They just knew that Mayura was in play, and they were trying to figure out how. Ladybug hadn't hesitated in her response when he had asked if they knew how to cure it. She hadn't paused or looked away like she was lying. And she was a teenager and still an open book, as was Chat Noir. They weren't_ experienced_ at lying.

Besides, he was cornered without a weapon and injured to boot, two of them versus one of him. There was no more running.

Hawkmoth took a deep breath, glanced around quickly to make sure that no one else could see them, and dropped his transformation, trying not to flinch at the renewed pain in his shoulder.

Chat Noir hissed. Ladybug let out a quiet gasp.

So they recognized him, then. That was not a surprise. He was hardly an average civilian, after all.

Nooroo spiraled free of the brooch, coming to a slightly dizzy halt midair. He shook himself, bewildered, then spotted Ladybug and Chat Noir and gasped. He lit up, more than Gabriel had ever seen before, letting out a delighted trill before catching himself and glancing back at Gabriel warily.

Gabriel decided not to comment.

Ladybug was the first to recover. "So, your wife is missing because she's been affected by the Peacock's curse," she said briskly, leaning forward and flipping her yo-yo open as though she was going to take notes. She tapped the side, and - okay, she _was_ going to take notes. She pulled out a flowery notebook and a pink pen and held then attentively, looking up at him. "Can you tell me when she started using the Peacock, how often and for how long, and what state she's in currently?"

So Gabriel told her as much as he could as quickly as he could, mentioning that Emilie had found some way to lessen the effects but she hadn't told him how and ever since, she had been getting steadily worse. Even since Nathalie started using the Peacock.

_Especially_ since Nathalie started using the Peacock.

"So Nathalie Sancoeur is Mayura?" Ladybug asked, pen hovering above the page. Gabriel nodded in confirmation.

"She just wanted to help. She must have overheard me talking about using Heart instead of Body and decided that that was a good idea. I truly doubt that she would have done it had she known the full extent to which it would affect her."

Ladybug made a face but clearly chose not to comment on that.

"And where is your wife now?"

"Underground- no, not like that!" Gabriel corrected himself hastily when Chat Noir looked alarmed. "There's a large space underground among the catacombs- it's not exactly under the mansion, but I've had it connected- and she's staying down there, so I can visit but my son won't stumble on her. I can show you sometime," he added quickly. "I know an alternate route there, without going through the mansion. But she needs help quickly. I don't- at the rate that she's going, I don't know how much longer it will be before she slips away entirely."

"We're on it," Ladybug promised. "Perhaps you can let us know about the route tonight or tomorrow, and we can go by ourselves first."

Gabriel could see what Ladybug was doing there. It wasn't hard. Teenagers were _very_ transparent. But he could understand it, and right now he was entirely playing on their terms. "Of course. Ah- I can leave instructions on a USB in my son's room, perhaps?"

"Or you can send them through Kwami-messaging!" Nooroo piped up. "Once you transform again and your sword is restored, you can open it and use it in any way you can think of! There's less chance of Nathalie finding out that way. And less chance of Adrien finding out."

Gabriel had to give Nooroo that, though it was really less chance of Adrien finding out _right away_, anyway. Unless the police kept things on the down-low- which what reason did they have to do that, really?- the whole of Paris would know before long.

At least he was essentially turning himself in. That had to help _somehow_, right?

"Let's do that, then," Ladybug said briskly. She glanced behind herself. "But for right now, unless we want to risk Mayura finding out, I think Chat Noir and I have an akuma to take care of."

"And there'll probably be others," Gabriel said apologetically. "I'll try to stall, but I can't risk Nathalie getting suspicious, not until we figure out what to do about her."

"Of course." Ladybug packed both pen and notebook back into her yo-yo, then nodded at Gabriel. "We'll be in touch, I guess."

"Of course. I'll get you those instructions as quickly as possible," Gabriel assured her. He winced as he felt his brooch heating up. "As for me, I'm going to have to recharge before Mayura thinks that I'm stalling. Do try to wrap this up quickly."

Ladybug and Chat Noir nodded once, then turned as one and raced off over the rooftops, vanishing quickly. Gabriel glanced around and found a fire escape nearby. Sighing, he started down it, tucking Nooroo into his jacket as he did. It was a tall enough building, so it took a couple minutes for them to reach the bottom. Just as they did, a rush of sparkling ladybugs raced around Paris, putting everything back to rights. Gabriel watched it, for once glad at the end of a battle. Nathalie would have no reason to continue pushing for him to retransform and return to the fight now that the akuma was out. He could take his time in getting back to the mansion, letting the day's events properly sink in.

"Well, Nooroo," Gabriel said, patting the lapel of his jacket as he stepped down to the ground. "This wasn't how I thought today would go, but I'm glad it did. We seem to have made some _very_ unlikely allies today."

* * *

_a/n: ...or become unlikely allies, considering that HE was the one to effectively switch sides, but...y'know. Details._

_Next time: over to Adrien/Marinette's POVs!_

_As usual, reviews always make my day! _


	8. Chat Noir: Part 1

Chat Noir wasn't sure how he had made it through the rest of the fight, he really didn't. But the akuma was defeated, Ladybug's Cure had swept around the city, and now he and Ladybug were recharging their kwamis in an alleyway on opposite sides of a dumpster before they headed to Master Fu's apartment.

His father was Hawkmoth. His mom had used the Peacock Miraculous every few months for several years to defend Paris against _monsters from another dimension_, apparently, and now she was in a coma and close to death. Nathalie was Mayura and was slowly (or not-so-slowly) losing her humanity every time she transformed.

It…..was a lot to take in. Pretty much his entire life was being shaken up under him, and somehow he was supposed to not react until…. Well, he didn't even know. He couldn't let on anything in front of his father, of course, or in front of Ladybug because they hadn't yet been given the go-ahead to share their identities with each other and getting upset about who Hawkmoth was would _definitely_ give him away. It would be _dangerous_ to let on that anything was wrong in front of Nathalie, and his friends…. well, in their eyes nothing had changed and he wouldn't be able to explain how he knew what he knew to them anyway.

That meant that he had to be absolutely alone (with the exception of Plagg) before being able to let himself actually _react_.

At least- at least his father wouldn't akumatize _him_, right? Adrien would be safe to actually be upset, right?

Maybe not. _That_ was upsetting in itself. It wasn't _healthy_ for Adrien to have to repress his emotions all the time.

"Ready, kid," Plagg spoke up, and Adrien nearly jumped. "Are we transforming or not?"

"I'm ready when you are," Ladybug called. "And then I can show you the back window that I sneak in when I have to visit Master Fu as Ladybug, so that no one from the street sees me."

"Right, right," Adrien said hurriedly. _Focus on one thing at a time_. He could manage this. "Plagg, transform me!"

It didn't take long at all for them to race over the rooftops to Master Fu's place and sneak in. Once they got there, though, they found Master Fu with a client and had to wait in his back room until he was done. Chat Noir glanced at the clock hanging from the wall, wincing at the time.

He was missing _so_ much school today. No doubt there would be another letter home, and he would have to have Chloe forge his father's signature _again_ to avoid getting in trouble. Then she would ask questions that he couldn't answer, and then get mad at him when he didn't respond.

Maybe Adrien should learn how to forge signatures. It would be less work than asking Chloe, _especially_ when he figured in the _emotional _work attached to anything and everything Chloe.

"I'm looking forward to not missing class anymore once all of this is over," Ladybug said in his ear, echoing Chat Noir's thoughts exactly. "I'm going to get grounded for this for _sure_, I'm missing _so_ much class today."

"D'you think that you'll be able to tell your parents who you are after this is done?" Chat Noir asked, latching on to the opportunity to talk about something else for a while. "Has your kwami mentioned it at all, or…?"

"I'm hoping that I can, honestly. It's _so_ hard hiding it, and I hate disappointing them." Ladybug glanced over at him. "And you?"

It took Chat Noir a second to catch her meaning, but when he did, he shook his head. "Not a chance. It wouldn't be safe for me."

_That_ got him a worried glance from Ladybug, but Wayzz flew in before she could ask further. He looked surprised to see them.

"Will Master Fu be free after this customer?" Ladybug asked right away. "We have some important developments to talk to him about, but if it's going to be a while…"

"No, just the one!" Wayzz assured them. "And he's almost done, too. But what kind of developments are we talking about?"

"We found out Hawkmoth's identity and what he wants," Ladybug said before Chat Noir could speak up. Not that he exactly trusted his voice yet, really. "And how Mayura is getting around the curse on the Peacock Miraculous. She's using Heart."

Wayzz gasped, little nubbly paws flying to his mouth. "Oh no! That's so hard to recover from!"

"Is Body?" Chat Noir asked anxiously. "If they've been really affected?"

Wayzz shook his head. "Not Body! It's very straightforward damage to make, and so is very straightforward damage to repair. Heart changes who a person is, and so it takes more magic to undo." He sighed. "Though we _did_ suspect that that might be the case. It would not take more than a couple weeks of concentrated use for someone using Body to be dropped into a coma, and Mayura has been _very_ active. And her strategizing skills _definitely_ indicates that she didn't use Mind."

Both superheroes nodded. They knew enough about the options to be able to recognize that.

"But you say that you discovered Hawkmoth's identity," Wayzz said, finally catching the other part of Ladybug's sentence. "Who….?"

"Gabriel Agreste."

"And how?"

"He overheard us talking about the Peacock's curse and demanded to know if we could cure it, and in return for our promise to do that, he revealed his identity," Ladybug told Wayzz. "It was one of our conditions, actually. And we _did _have him cornered and unarmed, too. But this way, he backed down without a fight."

Wayzz looked pleased. "Very good. There will still be a final battle with Mayura to subdue her, no doubt, but with Hawkmoth taken care of it will be _much_ easier." He glanced at Chat Noir, no doubt wanting to say something more but refraining because Ladybug was listening. "And I think I just heard Master Fu's customer leave! Let me check, and then I'll come back to get you."

Wayzz zipped off, and then they heard Master Fu's slow footsteps coming back to get them. Wayzz flew next to him, updating Master Fu on what Ladybug had told him.

Chat Noir appreciated that. At some point, Ladybug was going to start wondering why he didn't seem as thrilled about their discovery of Hawkmoth's identity as he was.

"So you've been quite busy, and have had _quite_ a successful battle, I hear." Master Fu beamed at them as he opened the door and waved them out into the main room. "Very good! Come out, come out, I want to know everything that you've learned."

Ladybug practically bounced out, settling down on a cushion quickly. She pulled her yo-yo out again, opening it up to pull out her notebook and pen from before. "I took notes! And Mr. Agreste is going to be sending us the instruction on how to get down to the underground lair where Mrs. Agreste is. How soon can we heal her, do you think?"

Chat Noir froze. _Of course!_ With everything else that had happened, he had forgotten (well, _nearly_ forgotten) that they had found out where his mom was, and they were planning on healing her. _That_ was good news, at least.

Master Fu smiled. "Well, there will be two spells for that- one to break her connection to the Peacock so that her condition no longer is declining, and then one to wake her up that I will need the grimoire for, because I didn't get a picture of that page. But since we have an in with Hawkmoth now, he can simply hand the book over to us."

"I'll message him!" Ladybug volunteered at once, yo-yo already in hand. "Tikki and Nooroo have made a connection. Then he can leave the grimoire down near Mrs. Agreste and we can pick it up when we go check it out."

"I will go with you to cast the severing spell," Master Fu told her as Ladybug typed out a quick message. "Are you both able to go…?"

"Of course," Ladybug said at once, and Chat Noir nodded his agreement. He saw what Master Fu was trying to do, of course, and he appreciated the chance to bow out if seeing his mom would be too hard, but he _wanted_ to see her. He wanted to hear whatever analysis Master Fu made when he saw her firsthand and be able to know how soon he would get to have her back again.

Chat Noir already knew that it was going to be hard seeing his mom and _not_ reacting. He knew that. But he could handle it, if it meant that he got to see her.

(Besides, he hadn't forgotten the way that Ladybug had screamed earlier when Hawkmoth grabbed her, and he didn't like the idea of her being on enemy territory without him by her side.)

"We will go tonight, then, if we can," Master Fu told them. "Will you be free?"

"My parents go to bed right after dinner," Ladybug volunteered. "So I should be free by eight thirty or so."

"I'll be free then, too," Chat Noir said, glad that the nerves in his stomach had calmed down enough for him to form sentences and actually sound- well, not _normal_, but not too off, either. He edged closer to Ladybug. "Did you send the message?"

"Yeah, but I didn't say what time we'd be by. I don't trust Mr. Agreste fully yet." Ladybug's expression hardened. "Should- should we be telling someone who Hawkmoth is and where we're going, just in case…?"

"I will contact Marianne," Master Fu told her. "And I will tell her everything that you have told me, and a time at which we should be returning. And I might pull a couple of the other kwami out to act as scouts, to disable any traps and to look for cameras."

Ladybug nodded.

"So what was the Peacock being used for before?" Chat Noir asked, realizing that maybe he was getting excited too early. He didn't _think_ that his mom would have ever been a supervillain, but, well, clearly he didn't know his parents as well as he thought he had. "I mean, Hawkmoth said something about creatures from another dimension, but who knows if he was telling the truth. Do you know?"

"I don't know specifics of the fight- I was across the world dealing with another issue while the portal was trying to rip open in Paris, and I made the error of not coming to check in on what was going on- but I can assure you that Mr. Agreste told you the truth and the Peacock was a superhero," Fu told him, smiling gently at Chat Noir. "Abet one that worked entirely behind the scenes. The tear between dimensions didn't exactly appear frequently, so she could manage well enough with a broken Miraculous. Though I suspect that she was doing something to lessen the effects as well."

"If Duusu is trapped, then he will be drawing energy from anyone and everyone who he is bonded with," Wayzz chimed in. "Which means everyone who has transformed using the Peacock and who is still alive. If she found a way to feed Duusu- if, perhaps, she buried the Miraculous in food when it was not in use- then I could see the effects being pushed back to be as minimal as possible. My guess is that she was not fully asleep when she first fell, and then dropped off quickly as Duusu went unfed."

Ladybug nodded. "That makes sense."

"Once the bond is severed- what does that mean, exactly?" Chat Noir asked. "It doesn't sound pretty."

Master Fu smiled at that. "Well, normally we would use the spell to force an end to a transformation- if someone got injured and needed treatment but wasn't conscious to detransform, or if a Miraculous was broken. It would keep the kwami from getting overly drained, too. Then we would have to use another spell to allow them to bond again in the future, if they were able. There will be a reaction from the magic, but it does not hurt."

Chat Noir nodded.

"I might mix up a quick potion meant to heal and restore energy," Master Fu decided. "We might as well kick-start the healing process so that there's less strain on Mrs. Agreste's body once she wakes up. She's been out for over a year now, after all."

"Do you need help?" Ladybug wanted to know at once. Master Fu smiled.

"Only a little. Ladybug, why don't you return to school? I can teach Chat Noir a bit about the potion-making process. You've already seen a couple, so it's only fair that he take a turn."

"Of course," Ladybug agreed. She glanced at Chat Noir. "Unless you have somewhere to be?"

Chat Noir glanced at the clock again. He was going to be in _so_ much trouble. "I can stay. I might as well, at this point."

"You took the words right out of my mouth," Ladybug sighed. "My teachers are going to be sending a note home with me again, I just know it."

"Tell them that your grandpa had a health issue and he called you to come help," Master Fu suggested. "Since the akuma appeared over your lunch break, it should be believable enough."

"Unless they still send a note home, in which case I'm in trouble." Still, Ladybug pushed herself to her feet. "It's worth a shot, though. See you later, Master Fu."

"We will meet at the park near the Francoise Dupont school," Master Fu told her. "Best of luck. You can leave through the window."

Ladybug nodded, waved, and dashed off. Seconds later, the soft _click_ of a window lock marked her departure.

"You can detransform now, Adrien," Master Fu told him. "And then we can get started on the potion. How are you doing?"

Adrien released Plagg and sighed. "Honestly? I'm not even sure."

"Would you like to talk about it? We can do that while collecting what we will need for the potion."

"I mean… sure?" Adrien got up, following Master Fu back into his apartment. "I found out that my father is Hawkmoth and has been terrorizing the city for over a year now, and that Nathalie decided to join him and has become heartless and she's why the akuma attacks have become so much worse. And my mom's in a magical coma, apparently, because of some secret double life that both my father and Nathalie knew about but I didn't."

"But your father has decided to cooperate now and we'll be getting your mom out of her coma, now that we know about it." Master Fu walked over to a tall cupboard and opened it. "Can you do me a favor and grab that jar up there?"

Adrien grabbed it. "Yeah, but he only decided to go to us for help when he had no other choice, once he was being terrorized by Nathalie. He just decided that Nathalie was a bigger threat than jail, and he saw a quick way out of the problem that _he_ had created."

Master Fu nodded thoughtfully. "Yes, there is that. But he didn't decide to go along with her plans willingly, that much is obvious. He became a pawn in his own game."

He deserved that, Adrien thought. His father manipulated and pushed other people around all the time. He needed to know what that felt like himself, and maybe he would stop.

"But now I know why my father has suddenly started coming to get me for my activities himself, instead of sending Nathalie," Adrien said instead, not wanting to sound like he was all down for revenge. Even though he sort of _was_ in this case. "She's not going to be trying to hide that there's something up with her, is she?"

"That is the danger of Heart: the person using it doesn't even realize that something is wrong. To them, all seems normal." Master Fu collected a couple small bins and shoeboxes, then pointed out another few jars on the high-up shelves for Adrien to grab. "And I have told you how Heart is a misnomer, right? It should really be _soul_. But to many, heart and soul are seen as largely interchangeable."

"It takes out what makes you human," Wayzz chimed in. "Which would explain why akuma attacks have been causing more injuries and worse. Mayura has noticed that you will get distracted moving civilians and without a conscience telling her that it's wrong, she's decided to take advantage of that."

"That would also explain why Hawkmoth started coming out, and why he decided to target Ms. Bourgeois directly," Master Fu added on. "In the absence of a heart- or a soul, as the case may be- she would be viewing all of the citizens of Paris as simply chess pieces, ones that could be sacrificed without hesitation."

Adrien nodded. He understood _that_, but it didn't make it better. "Yeah. But all of the 'improvement' that he's been showing- interacting with me instead of sending Nathalie and giving in to Ladybug and I- it wasn't because he _wanted_ to improve. He didn't take a good, hard look at himself and decide that he needed to do better. He did it all because he had dug himself into a hole and got scared."

"That is very true."

"And then finding out about Mom- I'm happy about that, because _she_ didn't do anything wrong. But I'm worried about her." Adrien swallowed as he followed Master Fu back to his kitchen and helped him line up the jars and containers on the counter. "What my dad said- it made her condition sound really serious. What if she slips away before we get there?"

"If we're going tonight, the chance of that happening is _very_ low," Master Fu told him. "The curse takes a certain fraction of a person's energy, so the decline is faster at first than it is once the cursed person gets to…. Well, once they get to the point where your mom is."

Adrien frowned. "But my father said that she's gotten a lot worse recently."

"_Think_, kid," Plagg cut in. "What has changed recently that would cause that? We gave you the answer earlier."

Adrien thought, then frowned. "I…. don't know?"

"When do I need more energy?" Plagg prompted. "Is it the same all the time?"

"You'd eat all the time if you could." Still, Adrien gave it some proper thought, and it only took a second for him to figure it out. "After I've transformed and used my power! And Nathalie was transforming maybe once a week or so for a couple months after months of the Peacock not being used, and now it's several times a week so the curse is drawing more energy."

Master Fu smiled. "Exactly! So the draw should be baseline unless Nathalie transforms between now and then, and then we'll be cutting off the connection tonight and giving her a booster. And as long as she responds well to the potion, we'll probably be sneaking back in every day to give her more while I work on the spell that will help her recover fully."

Adrien let out a breath. "Okay. So by tonight, she should be out of the danger zone."

"Apart from the fact that she's technically in the same building as a person who has lost much of their soul…. yes, she will be out of the danger zone."

Plagg snorted. "You just _had_ to throw a ginormous qualifier in there, didn't you?"

"I was simply trying to point out that the house is not safe, and nothing can be guaranteed. But if Mayura was transforming with the goal of ending the curse to help your mom, then I see no reason why she should pose a danger to her now."

Adrien relaxed marginally. "Okay."

"So for this potion- first we'll start with a base," Master Fu told him. "I have the recipe written here. This recipe, the kwamis are allowed to stay around for. For the ones altering their powers, they are not allowed to stay nearby."

"In case they get captured?"

"Exactly."

Adrien spent the next hour watching Master Fu carefully mix together ingredients, stirring the pot occasionally. He ground up a few ingredients at Master Fu's request, working them into a fine powder.

"Thankfully _this_ particular recipe is rather straightforward," Master Fu told Adrien as he inspected how well ground the final ingredient was. "I have had trouble working out what some of the others were referring to when they listed an ingredient. The potions for power-ups took several tries, and Ladybug was the one to figure out the final ingredient."

Adrien smiled. Of _course_ his Lady was the one to figure it out. She was so smart and creative. It had probably been someone just like her who had come up with the instructions in the first place.

Master Fu deemed the grinding good, and brought the mortar over to the bubbling pot. He sprinkled the powder in, and Adrien watched with interest as the formerly green potion transformed into blue, sparkling brightly.

"Well, that looks like it worked," Master Fu said cheerfully. "Fantastic. Now, would you like to help me bottle this up? And then we can put together a kit to bring along when we go tonight, to test magic and energy levels."

The rest of the afternoon went by in a flash, and then Master Fu was ushering Adrien out of his studio, promising to bring the kit to the park that evening.

"Let me know if you can't make it on time," Fu told him as Adrien headed out. "We can go later, of course, but we want to still be alert enough to deal with any threats."

Adrien nodded, and headed down the street. As he walked, his shoulders slumped a little and he squared them, trying his best to look as though nothing was wrong. It was harder than he would have expected, but he was a model. His mom had given him some acting lessons at one point when he had shown interest in what she was doing. He could pretend to be fine for a little bit longer.

"Are you going to be okay, kid?" Plagg asked, sticking his head out of Adrien's jacket. "I can feel you worrying from here."

"I'll be fine," Adrien said again, but even he wasn't sure how true that was. "Really."


	9. Chat Noir: Part 2

Adrien had never dreaded going home so much. Fencing had provided a bit of a distraction- he needed to be focused and in the moment to hold his ground against Kagami- but now he was going back to the house where two supervillains who wanted his Miraculous lived.

How he was going to manage sleep, Adrien didn't know.

Now that he was on the lookout for it, Adrien noticed how much of an effort the adults were putting in to keep Nathalie away. The Gorilla got him for dinner and set down a printout of Adrien's revised schedule for the week with the changes highlighted, something that Nathalie normally did. His father stuck his head in briefly to let Adrien know that he wouldn't be able to make it to dinner, instead of having Nathalie do it. He was left alone for all of dinner, and then the chef came up to collect Adrien's dishes.

For the few seconds that he saw his father, Adrien noticed how incredibly _stressed_ he looked. Some people might not notice, but his father had _always_ been impeccably put together. For his clothes to be not quite straight, and for his necktie to be crooked like that…

Without meaning to, Adrien's eyes had locked on that necktie. Now he knew that his father hid his Miraculous under that tie, he hated it. He wanted to rip it off and take the Miraculous, ending the whole charade now.

Instead, he had to keep a straight face and nod as his father told him that Adrien would be having dinner alone (as usual). As soon as his father retreated again, Adrien sighed and slumped in his seat again.

"Only a couple more hours," Plagg reminded him. "Then we'll be seeing Ladybug again."

"And Jade Turtle." Adrien scooped up another bite of food. He wasn't very hungry, but he should probably force himself to eat at least half of his dinner. "And Mom."

Adrien's phone dinged, and he reached for it automatically. It was a message from Chloe, and he opened it with a groan.

_Chloe: Ms. Bustier gave Nino your notes and homework from the class you missed but I took it and the note. Got it signed already. Xoxo_

Adrien sighed. Okay, well, that was one less thing to worry about, at least, but now he had to go get something for Chloe as thanks. He texted her back, setting up a time when she would drop by and give him his things through the gate, so that Nathalie wouldn't spot her.

He wasn't going to be able to do a very good job on his homework, Adrien knew that already. But he could manage something passable, at least, and maybe he could put his head together with Marinette in the morning to check his answers over before he turned things in, since she was super-smart and wouldn't interrogate him about why he wasn't as focused as usual.

As a bonus, if Marinette noticed that he was off, she would bring him treats from the bakery. While sugar wouldn't make his father _not_ a supervillain (or give Nathalie her heart back, or make his mom immediately better), it was tasty and made him feel better, at least for a while.

Time crept by, and then Adrien was transforming and sneaking out of his window, glancing around nervously to make sure that he wasn't getting picked up by any of the security cameras.

He couldn't get caught now. Not when it was looking like they might finally have a chance to wrap up the akuma fights.

Ladybug was sitting half-hidden in a tree when Chat Noir arrived, and he joined her. She smiled at him, waving her yo-yo before popping it open to look at the screen inside.

"Did you get the directions?" Chat Noir asked as he settled on the branch next to her. "And did Hawkmoth get your message about the grimoire and the scrolls?"

"Yes and yes. They'll be waiting for us down there." Ladybug tilted her yo-yo towards him. "Finding the entrance might be difficult. I think it might be in the basement of some restaurant. And then it goes through the catacombs for a while. I think the tunnel doubles back on itself several times."

Chat Noir sucked in a breath. He had heard stories of the catacombs, of course, and being in there for any extended length of time? That would _not_ be fun. And his mom was laying down there somewhere, all by herself.

Unconscious, which…. Well, Chat Noir wasn't sure if that made it better or worse.

"That's not exactly a great place to suddenly wake up," Ladybug added, pulling Chat Noir's attention back to her. "So maybe the space that she's in is cleaned up a little? I guess we'll see."

Chat Noir nodded. He was feeling really nervous now, and he was starting to regret not having squirreled away his dinner in the mini-fridge in his room instead of eating it.

"I see Jade Turtle!" Ladybug announced suddenly, elbowing Chat Noir and pointing. "I think he's ready to go. Maybe he'll have some ideas on where we should look for the entrance."

"Is it anywhere near the park?"

Ladybug shook her head as she jumped down from the tree. "Not really. It's across the river."

"Wait, we have to go _across the river? Underground?_"

Jade Turtle smiled as they joined him. "It sounds like it's a good thing that we have super-suits, then. But things shouldn't collapse," he assured them. "The tunnels have been there for a long, long time. The chances of something giving way now are very, very low. But if we have to walk a distance, we should get going before it gets _too_ far past my bedtime."

Ladybug and Chat Noir nodded in agreement, and they headed across Paris, keeping to rooftops and staying out of sight as much as possible. The cold weather was keeping a number of people off of the streets and indoors, but there were still some people out and about who might spot them.

The last thing that they needed was Alya livestreaming them as they headed down into the tunnels, announcing to all of Paris (including Hawkmoth and Mayura) that they were in a small, contained space that they didn't know well.

Fortunately, the darkness and the height of the rooftops kept them out of sight, and soon they were touching down behind a small cafe. A café that looked _strangely_ familiar, actually. Chat Noir recognized the storefront from pictures that his mom had shown him years ago, from _way _back when _Gabriel_ was a single storefront boutique instead of a worldwide fashion house.

Well, that explained how his father had known about this particular entrance.

"My yo-yo says that the entrance to the catacombs that we want is here," Ladybug reported. "It's probably in their basement."

Chat Noir glanced around nervously. "Uh- it's closed. So…?"

"I would like for you to pull out the Bee and the Fox," Jade Turtle told them. "We can pull Pollen and Trixx from their Miraculous and they can do the scouting for us. They've had experience doing it before, and they're a little more familiar with modern technology than some of the other kwamis."

Ladybug and Chat Noir nodded, each popping open their weapons to pull out the box containing their extra Miraculous. Before long, Trixx and Pollen floated free.

"I'll unlock the door!" Pollen volunteered at once, doing a loop-the-loop through the air and ending up right in front of the lock. "And Trixx can look for any security system that you'll need to avoid. Just remember to lock up after you come in!"

"Will two be enough?" Chat Noir asked anxiously as the kwamis phased through the door. "Should we be getting the others out, too?"

Jade Turtle shook his head. "No, just these two should be enough. But you have your other extras along in case we need them, right?"

Ladybug and Chat Noir nodded in unison.

"Good. Now- oh, Pollen is giving us the all-clear. Let's not waste any time, now, in we go-"

The three superheroes piled into the shop, and Ladybug paused to click the door shut behind them. With Chat Noir leading the way, they headed down to the basement.

"I feel a cold draft coming from this corner," Ladybug said once they got to the bottom. "They probably boarded over the entrance."

"I wonder how Mr. Agreste found the route in the first place," Chat Noir commented as he worked towards the corner that Ladybug had indicated- and yep, there was a large padlocked door over in that corner. "Trixx, Pollen…?"

"On it!" Trixx zipped over and into the lock. Seconds later, it popped over with a muted _click_. "You're going to have to find a different entrance if you're going to be going down there a lot. It's just going to be a matter of knocking down a divider wall or moving a cave-in out of the way, I bet."

"Just, he says." Chat Noir pulled the door open, stepping through first. It was dark, dark, _dark_. "Is that all?"

"You have your Cataclysm, do you not?"

Chat Noir blinked. "Oh. I had forgotten about that."

Jade Turtle brought up the back of the group, tugging the door closed behind him. Trixx flew back out to re-do the lock, and Jade Turtle waited for him to return before gesturing for Chat Noir to start forward.

With the press of a button, Chat Noir's staff turned into a flashlight, lighting the corridor in a slightly eerie shade of green. The slight red light from Ladybug's yo-yo joined it after a second, and then Jade Turtle's helmet-hat lit up like a beacon.

"We're going to be in trouble if we _do_ end up having to fight," Ladybug commented with a laugh. "The light will be all over the place."

"Neither Hawkmoth nor Mayura should be able to see in the dark," Jade Turtle said as they headed forward. The tunnel was sloped downward steeply. "So if Hawkmoth decided to double-cross you for some reason, we would simply have to turn our lights out and let Chat Noir use his night vision to take him out."

"Can you see where Hawkmoth is if he's transformed?" Chat Noir asked suddenly, struck with an unpleasant thought. "And can he see where _we_ are? I mean, he can send us messages now."

"Tikki said that she and Nooroo set it so that we can see where Hawkmoth is, but he can't see us," Ladybug told him. "Which he had to agree to on his end, Tikki told me so earlier." She was smiling. "I think he's honestly- well, not on our _side_, exactly, but he's waving a white flag of surrender. Not that I think we should let our guard down for a moment because Mayura might have picked up on something and forced him to tell her about his talk with us, but by himself I don't think he would be an issue. Not unless he's the world's greatest actor and was counting on us _not_ telling anyone else his secret identity before we came in."

They headed down the tunnel for a while, and it kept on going down, down, down. Chat Noir started glancing around as they walked, and to his surprise, there weren't any bones. Instead, there were just rough rock walls and the occasional bit of graffiti.

"I was expecting piles of bones," Chat Noir commented as they reached a fork in the trail. Ladybug pointed him down one of the tunnels once she had consulted her yo-yo, and they continued. "But was this just never filled?"

"Yeah, it was only really one section of the tunnels that got the bones. The rest just….exists."

"Okay, so we're going through _abandoned mines_, not the catacombs, technically," Chat Noir commented as he followed Ladybug. He glanced back and forth as they worked their way along the tunnel. "Still creepy. Also concerning that we have, like, buildings and whatnot built over all of this."

He could see Ladybug shudder. "Don't say stuff like that while we're down here!"

"Is this a bad time to point out that all of the support beams that I've seen have been super-rotted, then?"

"_Yes!_"

Chat Noir grinned at the clear irritation in Ladybug's voice. He had no doubt that if she didn't need her yo-yo to see where she was going, she would have used it to conk him over the head. It helped to be goofing around right now, because then he wasn't overanalyzing their interactions with his father- with _Hawkmoth_\- earlier in the day to try to find any signs that his father had some ulterior motive behind revealing his identity.

They went lower, and lower, and lower. At one point, they even went down a bit of a ladder into a lower tunnel, and it just _kept on going_.

"We've gone under the Seine by now," Ladybug said after a bit. Chat Noir glanced back to see her consulting her yo-yo. "And we don't have _that_ much further to go."

"And we haven't taken a wrong turn?" Chat Noir checked. "Because there are a _lot_ of forks down here." He grinned, spotting a glint of metal near his foot. "Only a couple knives and spoons, though."

"What are you- oh!" Ladybug exclaimed, surprised. "Silverware! One of the people who likes exploring these tunnels must have left it."

Chat Noir almost tripped over his own feet when he whirled to stare at Ladybug. "People come down here for _fun?_"

"Yeah. It's illegal to go past the guided area, but since when do people listen to rules?" Ladybug took the lead this time, determination in her stride. Chat Noir found himself jogging for a few steps to catch up. Behind them, Jade Turtle floated along on his shell. "They like the adventure, I think. But the tunnels can flood or collapse or people can get lost, and then what are you going to do? It's not safe."

"And yet here we are, going through the catacombs."

Ladybug giggled. "We'll try to find a shortcut out on the way back. I know that there's an entrance in the sewers near the park we met at, so if we can either find or make a way to that one-"

Chat Noir spluttered at that again. "Wait, how do you know these things?"

Ladybug's laugh was louder this time. "Tikki, partly. She likes exploring. And I had a friend when I was younger who had a _much_ older brother who was a- they call them cataphiles, the people who go in and explore the catacombs on their own. We overheard him talking about it once, and it just stuck with me. I had nightmares about it, actually. I didn't like the thought that there were exits in the neighborhood from these underground tunnels, because _obviously_ dark tunnels under the city had to have some scary monsters living in them, right-"

It was official: Ladybug was _adorable_. Chat Noir grinned as he pictured Little Ladybug glaring suspiciously out her bedroom window at the streets below, waiting for creepy-crawlies to come crawling out from between the sewer grates. Maybe she had piled stuffed animals at her windows to protect her. That was what he had done when he had heard his parents talking about a kid who had been kidnapped, years and years ago. Then he had gotten upset that he didn't have enough stuffed animals to guard _all_ of his windows _and_ to sleep with.

His father's solution had been to buy a no-frills nightlight. His mother had bought several packages of animal gel clings- dinosaurs, cats, and dogs- and helped him decorate the windows so that all of his stuffed animals could come back to bed with him.

"Okay, one more turn and then we're going to reach a door," Ladybug announced. "Normally we would need a key for it, but we have Pollen and Trixx."

Jade Turtle laughed. "I should probably wake them up, then. They dozed off in my shell after the first ten minutes."

Chat Noir frowned. "Wait, how long have we been down here?"

Ladybug checked her yo-yo. "Uh, thirty-five minutes."

"Oh _gosh_, what if an akuma hit while we were down here?"

Ladybug tilted her head as she thought. "Uh, if we heard about it- and I _did_ set an akuma alert on my yo-yo- then you could just Cataclysm a tunnel to the surface, I guess? We would have to either drop back down before casting the Cure or just find another entrance and try again."

"You think of everything, my Lady."

"Okay, quiet now," Jade Turtle urged them. "Trixx, Pollen, be on alert."

Chat Noir nodded, dimming the light on his baton slightly and working to keep his footsteps light. Ladybug's steps were soundless, and Jade Turtle was, of course, floating.

After a tense minute, Trixx's voice floated through the dim corridor. "Door ahead. There's no traps that either Pollen or I can sense."

"Open the door, then."

"On it, Master!"

There was a _click_, and then a crack of dim light appeared at the end of the tunnel. Ladybug's silhouette reached out and pulled the door all the way open. She sucked in a breath, and Chat Noir stepped up behind her quickly to see what had startled her.

The answer became obvious very, _very_ quickly. The door opened into a _huge_ space, a cavern the size of a cathedral. It was largely dark, lit only by flickering flames spaced evenly along the sides of the space and a faint beam of moonlight filtering down from _somewhere_, just barely illuminating a cluster of trees and something faintly reflective among them.

"Trixx, Pollen, if you would," Jade Turtle murmured, and there was a faint _whizz_ as the two kwami shot off. Chat Noir shifted anxiously as they awaited their report. Next to him, he could feel Ladybug doing the same. In the eternity before the kwamis returned, Chat Noir stayed still and listened, cat ears flicking to try to pick anything up.

There was a faint beeping coming from somewhere, _really_ slow but fairly steady. A barely-audible whirring of _something_ distinctly mechanical. A faint sloshing came from below, and with a start Chat Noir realized that there was water under the walkway- like, a _lot_ of water. Was it possible that this had been some sort of natural cavity before it had been built up?

It was _eerie_. Not eerie like _bone piles everywhere_ eerie, but still.

"No traps or anyone waiting up!" Pollen reported, materializing next to Ladybug's head and making all three of them jump. "You're safe to go."

"We're pretty much _right_ under the Agreste mansion," Ladybug reported from next to his elbow as they started out across the walkway. Even with as light as they were trying to walk, their footsteps on the metal grating echoed in the large space. "That's…. convenient, I guess?"

"_Under_ it?" Chat Noir asked, trying not to let his voice pitch higher. He didn't entirely succeed. "Someone thought that it would be a good idea to _build_ right on top of this thing? What if it collapses?"

"I mean, there's a pretty thick layer of rock and stuff between the ceiling of this and the basement of the house," Ladybug commented. She stumbled, tripping over an uneven part of the walkway as she consulted her yo-yo. Chat Noir caught her automatically. "And if you think about it, _something_ had to be built over it."

Okay, fine, maybe she had a point. Still, there was no _way_ that Chat Noir was going to be able to sleep now.

"And half of this place is under the park," Ladybug added, focus intent on her yo-yo. Chat Noir kept one hand on her arm to make sure that she wouldn't trip and fall again. "So I guess it isn't accurate to say that we're _right_ under the mansion. We're under one wing."

"Which one?"

"Uh…." Ladybug's tongue stuck out of the side of her mouth as she zoomed in and out and up and down on her yo-yo, playing with the layers as she tried to figure it out. "I'm not good with east and west and I'm all turned around down here anyway, but… the one with Mr. Agreste's office? Yeah, that one."

So Adrien's bed wasn't directly over a gaping pit, then. That was good to know.

(Still. He wasn't sleeping.)

"Look up ahead," Jade Turtle urged from behind them, and both superheroes looked up in unison. They had drawn closer to the garden, and now it had become obvious that the thing in the middle that was reflecting the light was some sort of glass thing, gently curved enough to hide whatever was behind it at this angle-

And then Chat Noir took three more steps forward, and the moonlight shifted enough for him to see his mom behind the glass, eyes closed and looking not particularly alive. A machine was hooked up to the- there was no other way to describe it besides a _coffin_\- and it was clearly tracking her breathing and her heartbeat. Printouts sat next to the machine, and a few more steps made a graph come into view. Chat Noir wasn't sure what it was showing, but the declining line probably wasn't a good thing. _Definitely_ wasn't a good thing.

"Oh, that's Mrs. Agreste," Ladybug said quietly. "And- Jade Turtle, look. The scrolls and the grimoire, on the ground at her feet."

"I'll have Trixx check them for tracking devices," Jade Turtle said. "The three of us will do the spell. Or, rather, you two will assist me. We're going to need to have this glass case opened."

Chat Noir tried to look normal as he stepped into the circle of moonlight with Ladybug. They each took a handle on the glass top and swung it open. Jade Turtle set down on the ground, getting out of his shell and pulling out the kit that Adrien had helped him prepare earlier. There were several sticks of various incenses, and a number of candles. Ladybug grabbed several of those, getting them set up as Jade Turtle instructed her. Chat Noir could only watch, torn between helping out and staring at his mom. His _mom_, who he hadn't seen in over a year.

She was breathing, at least. It was slow- so slow that he hadn't been able to tell at first- but it didn't seem labored.

Soon enough, Master Fu was ready. He shooed Ladybug and Chat Noir out of the circle of candles and they obeyed, Ladybug perching on the metal side rails of the walkway and Chat Noir retreating enough that he wasn't within hovering distance, but could clearly see what was going on.

Jade Turtle started chanting, lighting the candles and incense as he did. Swirling tendrils of magic appeared in the air, forming a dome. Once the last candle was lit, a faint blue trail appeared, leading from Mrs. Agreste's chest upwards.

To the Peacock Miraculous, Chat Noir realized. Hopefully Nathalie was too busy to notice, or maybe she didn't wear it all the time.

The candles flared up, and a break appeared in the trail, tearing it into two before it faded away and the candles all went out at once. Jade Turtle's chanting stopped, and he looked pleased as he waved his hands in the air above Mrs. Agreste.

"The bond is broken," he announced. "The Peacock will not continue draining her. Now Chat Noir, you may administer the potion as I showed you earlier. Ladybug, if you could help me pick up?"

Chat Noir nodded at once, jumping forward to pull out one vial of the potion. Master Fu had explained that they could only give Mrs. Agreste one dose per day, because otherwise they would risk stressing her body too much with a too-sudden recovery. He uncapped the vial, stepping forward to paint his mom's hands and wrists with the potion. It sparkled as it was absorbed through her skin, making her look even less part of their world.

The beeping picked up _just_ ever-so-slightly as he finished. Chat Noir glanced over in concern, but Ladybug's grin as she surveyed the monitor told him that it was a good thing.

"That's measuring the pace of her breathing," Ladybug reported. "It's still not _normal_, or anywhere close, but it's better than before."

"And it should continue to improve," Jade Turtle told them. "Tomorrow, I will work on a potion that should help strengthen her muscles before she wakes up, since they will have atrophied a bit over the year, even with the spell that she's had placed on her. There might be others- I need to consult my book of healing spells, and we'll need to wait until she's responsive enough to swallow reflexively to give them to her. But we want her to be ready to move as soon as possible."

"Where will she move to?" Chat Noir asked, re-capping the empty vial and putting it back in the bag. "It would be dangerous for her to be near Mayura, right?"

"I'm thinking a hotel might be good." Jade Turtle took one last glance around to make sure that he had everything, from the materials he had used in the spell to the scrolls and grimoire that Mr. Agreste had left. "All right, I think we're done for tonight. Ladybug, can you try to find an alternate route out of the tunnels?"

Ladybug looked supremely dubious. "You want me to walk and look at my yo-yo at the same time?"

For the first time all evening, Chat Noir laughed. "I can carry you on my back while we walk. Then you don't need to worry about tripping." He grinned. "Or about getting your ankles nipped by those creepy-crawlies that live down in the super-spooky catacombs."

Ladybug stuck her tongue out at him. "Ha-ha, very funny."

"The snakes and the spiders and the slime monsters-"

Ladybug crossed her arms and honest-to-god _pouted_. "I hate you so much right now."

* * *

It wasn't hard to find a new and _significantly_ shorter path out. Sure, Chat Noir had had to Cataclysm a small hole in a wall that had been erected between two tunnels and then had to recharge and clear out a whole pile of debris from a small cave-in, but other than that it had been smooth sailing right out. Ladybug recorded the whole path on her yo-yo, ending when they clambered out of a large sewer via manhole cover.

"It's so _late_," Ladybug said with a yawn once they had gotten the cover back in place and had retreated back to the sidewalk. "I'm glad that our trip to the cavern is going to be cut down to ten minutes, though. That'll make all of the other trips easier."

"How many trips do you think there'll be?" Chat Noir asked Jade Turtle. "I mean, given what we saw tonight…?"

"Mrs. Agreste's condition is fairly serious," Jade Turtle started, looking somber. "I tried a couple tests while you two were getting things ready- a knee tap, squeezing her hand, that sort of thing- and got no response. And of course, the machines showed that her breathing and heart rates were _far_ below normal. But she responded well tonight, and we'll keep on giving her the recovery potion until I'm sure that we have the final spell ready- and that will determine the number of trips we take more than anything else. Additionally, in a day or two, we might try the other potions. Ladybug, I might have you administer those."

Ladybug looked nervous at that, but she nodded sharply. "Of course."

Chat Noir was glad that he didn't have to do that. It sounded like a delicate task, trying to get his mom to swallow bits of potion safely, and he would probably be so freaked out about the possibility of screwing it up that he would _actually_ mess up somehow. He would _much_ rather do the externally applied potions.

"But for tonight, we are finished." Jade Turtle turned his face up to the moon, clearly enjoying the cool light for a few seconds before continuing. "Good night, both of you. Same time tomorrow?"

Both Ladybug and Chat Noir made noises of agreement, and then the group scattered. Chat Noir slipped back into the mansion and detransformed, slumping onto his bed with a heavy sigh.

Today had been… well, it had been _something_. It had been a _lot_. From finding out that his father and Nathalie were supervillains to seeing his mom again, it was a wonder that Adrien was still even upright at all. That was a _lot_ of ups and downs to take in in one day, and frankly he deserved a prize for holding it together like he was.

For now, though, Adrien had to at least _try_ to sleep.

* * *

_a/n: ft. Chat Noir joking as a coping mechanism. Or maybe as a distraction. Maybe both._

_Next time: Marinette's POV! How is she coping with the news of who Hawkmoth is?_

_As always, reviews make my day!_


	10. Act Normal

Marinette was all over the place as she got ready for school.

"Marinette, focus," Tikki sighed as she watched her Chosen put on her t-shirt inside-out. "You have to act like it's a normal day today, remember?"

"I _know_," Marinette groaned. "I don't know why I'm like this. I was just fine yesterday after the fight! It has to be because I'm going to see Adrien today," she added. "And I'm going to have to _not_ blurt out 'Your father is Hawkmoth!' when I see him."

Tikki giggled. "You could have seen Adrien after going back to school yesterday, but you weren't keyed up about it then."

"Because I was still in disbelief!" Marinette got her shirt on properly and snatched up her brush to get the tangles out of her hair. "Like, with the way that the fights have been getting tougher and tougher, I wasn't expecting Hawkmoth to just give up and tell us who he was! I mean, I- I was honestly worried for my life for a few seconds there," Marinette added quietly, turning somber. "Before Chat Noir pulled Hawkmoth away from me. I was thinking, _this isn't how I want Mama and Papa to find out that I'm Ladybug_."

Tikki perched on Marinette's shoulder, cuddling up to her wordlessly.

"And then to have him suddenly begging_ us_ for help- _that_ was some crazy whiplash." Marinette pushed her bangs off of her forehead. "Then I had to push past all of that to gather as much information as possible, and…. I think I just shoved it all in a box in my head to think about later. And now I've had time to think about it, and then we saw Mrs. Agreste, and- and my head's a _mess_."

Tikki nodded.

"And I _know_ that Adrien's been missing his mom and has been worried about his father and he's my _friend_ and I just want to tell him so that he knows that he'll be getting his mom back," Marinette finished. "I know that if it was _my_ mom who had been missing, I would want to know everything. But I know that I can't tell him anything."

"Maybe you can bring some treats to share with your friends?" Tikki suggested. "If you know Adrien's favorite, you could bring that. Would that make you feel less guilty about not telling him?"

Marinette wrinkled her nose. "It would feel like I'm trying to bribe him not to be mad at me in advance."

"But would Adrien appreciate a treat anyway?"

"Of course he would. He loves chocolate." Marinette finished brushing her hair and pulled it back into her trademark pigtails, checking in the mirror to make sure that at least outwardly, she looked put together. "I'll do that, I guess. _If_ I can get on school with enough time to give Adrien and Nino and Alya their treats before class starts."

As it turned out, Marinette had nothing to worry about. She got to school with plenty of time, only to find Nino and Alya clustered with some other students around Lila's desk as she spun some ridiculous tale. Marinette rolled her eyes at the group of them and headed back down to the lockers to wait for Adrien there.

He didn't take long to arrive. And when he did, Marinette was surprised to see that Adrien looked absolutely out of it, dark circles under his eyes not quite covered properly and hair not nearly as neat as normal.

"Rough night?" Marinette asked, sidling up to his side. Adrien jumped before turning to her with a sheepish smile.

"You could tell already?

"It's pretty obvious," Marinette admitted. "I could tell that there was an attempt to cover up the bags under your eyes, but, uh…"

Adrien winced and dug in his pocket. He pulled out his phone after a second, unlocking it and turning the camera into selfie mode. Using that as a mirror, he used his finger to blend in the dabs of concealer that he had clearly thrown on earlier. "Better?"

"A bit, yeah." Marinette tilted her head, then dug in her bag for her spare hairbrush. "Uh…"

"My hair too, huh?" Adrien accepted the brush, handing his phone over to Marinette so that she could hold it for him. "Yeah, okay, I was a bit of a mess. Thanks, Marinette."

"No problem." Marinette accepted her hairbrush back and tucked it in her bag. "Anytime." She surveyed Adrien. Even now that he had tidied up and hidden the bags under his eyes, he looked tired and a bit stressed. She had to wonder if he had started suspecting something was up in his house. It couldn't be _easy_ to hide Nathalie's sudden heartlessness, especially when she was usually the one to interact with Adrien. Suddenly, Marinette remembered the small bakery box that she still had tucked under her arm. She hastily pulled it out, opening it up and offering it to Adrien. "Pain au chocolat?"

Adrien perked up. "Oh, definitely!" He reached into the box, grabbing the pastry on top and biting into it. "You're the _best_, Marinette. This is exactly what I needed today."

"You can take all of them," Marinette offered, closing the box up again and holding it out to Adrien. "I was originally going to give one to Alya and Nino, too, but they're already in the classroom listening to another one of Lila's stories."

Adrien hesitated. "Are you sure you don't want to just give them their pain au chocolat later?"

"You look like you need it more, honestly." Marinette flashed him a smile. "They'll survive."

"Then sure, I'll never turn down more Dupain-Cheng baking." Adrien accepted the box with a smile and tucked it in his locker. "And Lila's up to her usual tricks, huh?"

"I _really_ don't feel like dealing with it today, but yeah." Marinette waited for Adrien to finish getting what he needed for the morning, and then they turned to head up to the classroom together. "I didn't even stay long enough to hear what she was yabbering on about this time."

"Mhmm." Adrien made a face. "I can't believe that people are still even _listening_ to her. I thought that everyone would figure it out for sure by now, but…."

Marinette just nodded. It was frustrating to watch. The stories by themselves were annoying, but even worse-

"She's got Nino working on making a portfolio of his music and filmwork," Adrien said, frustration clear in his voice. "On some empty promise to show it to some of her _connections_ when he's finished. Or some _implied_ promise, at least. And I've raised some concerns about it, but he doesn't listen. And he's not going to figure it out any time soon, because Lila supposedly has some charity thing talking up all of her extra time and he doesn't want to bother her. And I just- I don't have the _energy_ right now to try to convince him that it's all made up."

"At least putting together a portfolio is good practice for him," Marinette pointed out, even as she winced. Nino was getting his hopes up for nothing. But she made practice portfolios _all the time_ so that she could track her progress. It was just a good habit to have, so that she could pick out where her weaknesses were or where she was overusing certain techniques, and then she could fix that.

…not that she had really had the time to do that lately, but that was beside the point.

Adrien sighed, running a hand through his hair. "Yeah, I suppose. I just- I don't know how much more I can watch, but trying to convince Nino not to listen is just….I don't know what it's going to take. And it's _exhausting_."

They headed up to the classroom in silence. As soon as they got inside, though, Adrien straightened up and tugged on Marinette's arm. "Hey, did you do the homework last night?"

"Yeah, of course, wh-" Marinette took another look at Adrien and stopped mid-question. _Why_ he was asking was pretty obvious. She had never seen Adrien so distracted, which meant that he had probably not been able to do his homework well. A sudden change like that would prompt the teachers to send home a note or even call his father, which- if Marinette was right about what was bothering Adrien- would be the last thing that he wanted. Thankfully, she had done her homework with Rose and Juleka after school the previous day, so she knew that it had been done correctly. "Did you want to look over it together?"

"That would be _great_."

Marinette settled down in Nino's spot, pulling out her homework while Adrien found his. It was mostly filled out, but there were a few places where Adrien had clearly gotten partway through and then made a mistake that he couldn't find. "Okay, so let's start with first period…"

By the time the bell rang, they had worked their way through fourth period's homework. Adrien was looking a _lot_ less frazzled as he re-organized his things in his folder.

"You had almost everything right," Marinette assured him as she made to pack up and move back a row to her seat. "There were just a couple issues."

"Yeah, but I know that the teachers would probably send a note home with me again if I came to school with homework that was more of a mess than usual." Adrien glanced behind them and placed a hand on Marinette's arm, keeping her in place. "Nino took your spot for the day, I think. You can stay here."

Marinette nodded and sat back down.

As it turned out, she hadn't needed to worry about blurting anything out in front of Adrien. Most of her focus went towards making sure that she was on top of everything in class- a necessity now that she was missing class on a somewhat regular basis thanks to the akuma fights, and because she needed to understand everything in order to get her homework done promptly- and the rest went towards making sure that Adrien was doing all right. There was no urge to tell him everything that she had learned, even though he was sticking by her side like glue, even coming home with her for lunch so that they could work on their homework together.

Her mom had taken one look at Adrien and then brought up two slices of chocolate cake from the bakery for them to have with their lunch.

"Well, you survived the day!" Tikki said cheerfully as she and Marinette headed back to the bakery after school. "No secrets blurted."

"Yeah, because I was worried about Adrien. There's no way that he _doesn't_ suspect that something is up." Marinette trotted up the stairs to her room, snagging her after-school snack off of the kitchen counter as she went through. "So we're going to do homework together whenever he doesn't have something else he has to be at after school. It'll make both of us focus better, and maybe we can get through everything faster, too."

"He has something today, then?"

"Yeah, basketball." Marinette set everything down on her desk and started sorting it out. She and Adrien had made a pretty good dent over lunch hour- the saying that two heads was better than one _definitely_ applied with them- but she still had a decent amount to finish before she had to join Jade Turtle and Chat Noir in the park.

They might have some issues getting back down the manhole that they had used to get out the previous night. Ladybug hadn't considered that before, but the roads were busier when it was still early in the evening. Not so busy that they couldn't find a minute when the road was empty, but it would be hard to linger on the side of the road waiting for an opportunity without getting noticed.

Maybe they should discuss moving their meeting time a little later, so that there would be less of a chance that someone would notice them headed down.

Marinette forced herself to focus and get through all of her homework for the night and then even get a bit ahead. Her projects called to her- there was a jacket piecing project that she _really_ wanted to work on more- but Marinette ignored them.

She didn't know how soon things would get crazy in the Ladybug side of her life. She needed to be as ready as she could be to not have enough time to keep up with her normal life, which meant that the papers that were due in two weeks or the projects that needed to be done before the end of the semester. There was only so much that Marinette could do, of course, but what she _could_ get done _should_ get done.

And then it was time to go out.

Ladybug jumped across to the school before swinging down to the street and jogging to the park to settle in the same tree that she had hid in the night before. Chat Noir was already there, lounging across a large branch.

"It's going to be hard to get down the manhole," he told her right away. "It's too busy, and we're going to get noticed."

"It's mostly the getting noticed thing that I'm worried about," Ladybug told him. Then she perked up as an idea hit her. "Maybe we should be wearing disguises. If you tell me your size, I can probably find a couple trenchcoats at a thrift store or something."

Chat Noir grinned. "And _that_ won't look at all suspicious, two people in trench coats and baseball caps climbing down into a manhole in the dead of the night."

"Most people probably won't care, honestly." Ladybug adjusted her seat on the branch so that she was more comfortable. "That's what my friend's brother said, anyway."

They waited in silence for a few more minutes before Jade Turtle appeared. He waved them down and they joined him.

"Tonight, I will not be joining you," Jade Turtle told them once he was sure that there was no one listening nearby. "I would only slow you down. Chat Noir, you know how to apply your potion. Ladybug, I got the other potions done today, so you might as well try to administer them right away. Pollen will tell you how to do it. They will make sure the coast is clear before you go into the cavern."

Ladybug nodded. She had expected that, honestly. Master Fu normally went to bed early, she knew, and even if he had been riding around on his shell the whole experience had probably been exhausting. Now that the first spell was cast, she and Chat Noir could handle the potions part on their own until it came time to reverse the effects of the curse fully with a second spell.

"I'll leave this kit with the two of you," Jade Turtle told them, handing the satchel to Ladybug. "It should have a week's worth of potions in it and everything that you'll need. Ladybug, maybe you can keep it during the day?"

Ladybug nodded again. That would be easy enough. Her parents didn't enter her room without permission and wouldn't snoop, so it should stay safe and secret. "Okay."

"And Ladybug, you remember the spell for pulling the kwamis out without an active holder and can teach Chat Noir, right?" Jade Turtle asked. "So that I don't have to come out to meet you every time you go down?"

She nodded. She had practiced, at Tikki's suggestion. "Of course."

Jade Turtle nodded, pleased, then bid them farewell and headed off. After a minute's deliberation, Ladybug and Chat Noir decided to wait on the rooftops for an opportunity to jump down and enter the tunnels. Surprisingly, it didn't take long for an opportunity to pop up, and they hastily jumped down, pulled up the manhole cover, and climbed down.

This time, the walk was _much_ shorter. Now that the directions were entered in Ladybug's yo-yo and they knew where they were going, they could move _much_ faster along the tunnels. It only took seven minutes before they were in front of the locked door leading to the cavern again.

"Wait here!" Pollen told them, and then she and Trixx zipped through. Ladybug rested one hand on their bag as they waited, hoping that everything would go smoothly.

"I wonder how long it's going to be until she doesn't look so lifeless," Chat Noir said quietly as they waited. The end of his tail had curled around Ladybug's ankle, and she wondered what had him nervous all of a sudden. "She was just so _still_ yesterday. It was eerie."

"We might try the responsiveness tests again today," Ladybug suggested, though she wasn't _entirely_ sure how to do everything. "Or tomorrow. But I don't think she'll really wake up properly until we do the spell."

Chat Noir nodded. "Yeah." He paused, clearly indecisive about something, then blurted out "I- does it seem strange to you that we _aren't_ just charging in to do something about Mayura right away? Like, we know who she is, we know who _Hawkmoth_ is….I can understand not wanting to risk a battle upstairs with Mrs. Agreste down here, but just _waiting_…"

Ladybug couldn't help but agree. She and Tikki had had a discussion about that the previous day, actually, trying to strategize and figure out what Master Fu's most likely course of action would be. "Yeah. But it's dangerous to move her in this condition. _And_ it would be hard." Just getting _themselves_ down the manhole without attracting attention had been hard enough. With a life-support machine carrying a moderately famous model-actress?

_Yeah, not happening_.

"I mean, if I were in charge, I think I would get Mrs. Agreste to a point where she doesn't need the machine and carry her out somehow," Ladybug continued. Then they could actually _do_ something about Mayura before the curse progressed much further- _if_ it could progress further, that was. Once all of her heart was gone, what else would the curse take? "Then we wouldn't have to worry about her being down here and we could strike."

Chat Noir glanced at her. "Have you suggested that to Master Fu? I think it would be a good idea!"

Ladybug couldn't help but smile at the idea. She had spent enough time with Master Fu to know that trying to suggest "rushing" anything- whether or not it was actually _rushing_ was up for debate- was a big _no_ in Master Fu's mind. "He wouldn't go for it. I think he's a bit overly cautious now because of what happened with him at the temple. He'll want to make sure that Mrs. Agreste is fully taken care of before moving anywhere."

Chat Noir opened his mouth- probably to ask about what had happened at the temple, and honestly, Ladybug didn't know either, just that it was bad- when he was interrupted by the kwamis' return.

"It's safe!" Pollen announced, popping out through the door and bringing an end to their conversation. There was a _click_ as the lock opened, and then Trixx popped though, too. "Go right ahead!"

Ladybug nodded and pushed the door open, leading the way down the walkway. There was a sort of beauty to the cavern, she supposed, what with the arching rock walls and the geometric shapes in the walkways offset by the plants, all lit by the flickering red flames along the wall and the moonlight filtering down from above. But knowing that Mayura (or Hawkmoth, she supposed, though in _theory_ that wouldn't be that bad) could come in at any minute put Ladybug on edge, and having Mrs. Agreste just laying there in a coffin, pale and still…

Ladybug knew that Mrs. Agreste was alive. She _knew_ that. But she didn't _look_ alive.

She was glad that Chat Noir was there with her, she really was.

"Look at the printout!" Chat Noir said suddenly, tugging at Ladybug's arm. "Right there, at the end!"

Ladybug looked. At the very end of the graph tracking Mrs. Agreste's breathing rate, there was a small but distinct uptick. Improvement.

"It's reversed most of the last month's damage," Chat Noir reported, crouching down to see it better. "That's good."

"Really good," Ladybug agreed. "Though Jade Turtle said that the decline slowed down as Mrs. Agreste's energy got lower, so…"

"So we can't extrapolate when she would theoretically be fully recovered," Chat Noir finished. He checked the chart again. "And there's the whole thing with Mayura becoming active and drawing more energy, so it's not like it would have been a steady decline either way."

"Right!"

Ladybug set Master Fu's bag down, pulling out the vial of blue potion for Chat Noir and the two other vials for herself while her partner got the glass cover opened and started his work. "Pollen, what do I do with these?"

"You'll use the dropper," Pollen told her, swooping down to perch on Ladybug's shoulder. "And give her a drop or two right on the tongue. She's elevated at a good angle, so she should be able to swallow reflexively. If she doesn't, then don't give her any more. We'll try again tomorrow. If she does, then we'll give her more!"

"Okay. Well, first _I _need to get at a better angle…" Ladybug considered their surroundings, then noticed a step-stool tucked among the plants. It would give her enough height to be sure that she was putting the drops on Mrs. Agreste's tongue and not accidentally dripping them straight down her throat. She pulled it over, taking a few moments to put it in the perfect place."Okay, and then I'll start with one drop, I think. Pollen, how much is one night's dose?"

"As much as you can get her to swallow while you're here. Any little bit will help."

Ladybug nodded, pulling a small amount of potion up into her dropper. Re-corking the bottle, she climbed up onto the stool. "It's so strange to think that people can swallow in their sleep."

"They do it regularly, to keep saliva from building up!" Trixx told her as Ladybug gently pried Mrs. Agreste's mouth open just a little bit. "But not everyone does it very well, and that's why some people drool all over their pillow when they sleep. And it doesn't happen super often, maybe three times an hour during normal sleep unless something triggers more. Which the potion _should_."

"Right."

Chat Noir was already spreading the blue potion over Mrs. Agreste's hands, letting it soak in. Ladybug took a few more steadying breaths, then dropped two small drops onto Mrs. Agreste's tongue. Then she waited, and waited, and waited.

Nothing happened.

"She's too deep in sleep still, I think," Pollen commented, frowning. "That's too bad."

Chat Noir had paused and was looking up at her, worried. "Is that bad? Is she behind schedule?"

"Trying today was really more a 'might as well try' more than a 'this _should_ work by now'," Pollen corrected. "As long as we were careful with how much we gave her at a time, there was no downside to trying a little early and seeing how it went."

Even so, Ladybug couldn't help but be disappointed. She wanted Mrs. Agreste to recover as quickly and as smoothly as possible, and, well, this still _felt_ like a setback. She could tell that Chat Noir was disappointed, too, though he was trying to hide it.

Instead of hyper-focusing on it, Ladybug watched as the energy-recovering potion that Chat Noir had soaked into Mrs. Agreste's hands. It had to be applied directly to the skin and the pale pantsuit that she was wearing didn't leave many options, so Chat Noir had to apply a layer, wait for it to soak in, and then spread on another thin coating. It glittered in the moonlight, delicate and clearly magical.

"My kwami suggested spreading it on her face, too, to speed the process up," Chat Noir commented as they waited. "But it just- it wouldn't feel _right_. She already doesn't look alive. Having the residue on her face- she wouldn't look human anymore. And it kind of feels disrespectful, too."

"It would," Ladybug agreed. "Both of those. I mean, she would be _gorgeous_ in the moonlight if she was sparkling, but she wouldn't look human. And we don't know how long the residue sticks around before it fades. If Mr. Agreste saw it on her face…"

They shuddered in unison.

"We don't want to make him angry," Chat Noir agreed. "Not when he's actually cooperating with us." He glanced down at the vial in his hands. "I think one more layer should do it."

"And it takes, what? Three, four minutes to soak in?"

Chat Noir nodded. "Yeah. The first layer soaks in almost instantly, and then each application after that takes a little longer. Twice as long, actually. I think the residue affects it somehow."

"It would be nice if she was wearing short sleeves instead, so that there would be more space to work with and we wouldn't need to apply so many layers, but I suppose it's better that she's not. It's chilly down here."

"It is," Chat Noir agreed. "They would need a heater down here if she was wearing short sleeves. I'd rather have to deal with applying several layers and having to wait for the potion to soak in than have her getting ill because she was cold and shivering."

"And shivering would use up more energy, which is the last thing that she needs."

Chat Noir cringed. "Yeah, there's that, too."

Ladybug went back to staring at Mrs. Agreste while she waited for Chat Noir to finish. It was obvious which parent Adrien got his looks from, honestly. Mrs. Agreste was _gorgeous_. She already knew that Adrien had gotten his gorgeous green eyes from his mom from the pictures that he had shared with them, but it was clear that he took most of the rest of his looks from her, too.

She wondered if Adrien would end up as tall as his mom, too. Even though she was laying down, Ladybug could tell that Mrs. Agreste was very, very tall.

"She swallowed!"

Ladybug blinked, refocusing on the present. "She did?"

"Yeah!" Pollen spun around excitedly. "So you can put two more drops in. That will probably be all for tonight, but it's better than nothing!"

"It's improvement," Chat Noir said, grinning. "And that's what we want."

And Ladybug could only agree.

* * *

It didn't take long at all for them to finish up and get back up to the surface. Once they got to the manhole cover, all it took was sending Trixx up to watch for an opening so that they could pop out without ending up under the wheels of a car.

"I can get Trixx and Pollen back into their Miraculous now," Ladybug offered, reaching for the two Miraculous. "It's not hard. And then do you want to meet at the same time tomorrow, since it wasn't an issue today, or go later?"

"Same time tomorrow, but maybe later on the weekends," Chat Noir decided after a moment of thought, watching Ladybug wave her fingers over the Bee and Fox Miraculous. Pollen and Trixx waved before vanishing in a puff of smoke. "Friday and Saturday evening, I mean. People are out later those nights."

Ladybug nodded as she handed the Bee comb back to him. That was reasonable. Her parents wouldn't be up later, of course- it was important for them to not fall off schedule- but Chat Noir had a point. People _would_ be out later on the weekend. "That sounds good. Good-night, Chat Noir. See you tomorrow."

"Goodnight, Ladybug. Sweet dreams."


	11. Routine

It didn't take long for Adrien to fall into a new routine.

Every morning, he would get up and get out of the house as soon as possible, with the dual benefit of getting away from Nathalie (and his father) and having time to go over his homework with Marinette, making sure that he wasn't making any dumb mistakes just because he was distracted by every noise in the house. His friend seemed to be putting in an effort to get to school early too, just to help him, and she often brought treats for them to eat as breakfast while they talked and helped each other out.

Adrien was pretty sure that he would be a lot more of a mess without Marinette's help, and he thanked the stars that they had grown closer over the past few months, enough that he was comfortable asking for her help and she was comfortable in his presence.

He went through the morning like usual, and then either joined his classmates in the cafeteria or went home with Marinette for lunch. His father didn't object, which Adrien was thankful for. Still, he knew the sudden leniency wasn't because Mr. Agreste was feeling generous. It was because his father wanted to hide things from him.

Then afternoon classes went by in a rush of information, sometimes followed up by an activity of some sort, fencing or basketball or the occasional photoshoot. If he was free, then he and Marinette went up to the school library to work on their homework together until they had to go home. Adrien had dinner alone, then tried to get things done until it was time to go visit his mom.

According to the machine that she was hooked up to, she was getting better. Her heart rate wasn't _quite _so dangerously low, and her breathing was starting to approach normal. Ladybug was getting her to swallow more of the healing potions, though it was still a slow process.

They were getting there. The signs looked encouraging. But Master Fu had run into a snag with the spell, mostly because there was a potion that had to go along with it and he needed to track down the ingredients. Most of them were either easy to get or he already had them on hand, but a couple were proving problematic.

Master Fu had assured him that it was possible to get everything and he had all of the ingredients ordered, but it was going to take another week or so for it to come in. So in the meantime, he had made up another batch of the energy potion.

(Chat Noir had floated Ladybug's idea of getting his mom stabilized and then moving her out and getting the whole Nathalie situation taken care of right away instead of waiting, but Master Fu was firm: They were going to get Mrs. Agreste awake _before_ they moved her. Rash actions could destabilize their entire plan, and they could _not_ risk that.)

For his part, Mr. Agreste was being surprisingly patient. He had politely thanked Ladybug for the update when she messaged him to let him know about when they would be trying a spell to wake Mrs. Agreste up in the next week or so, and prior to that had messaged her to report the amount of improvement that Mrs. Agreste had made. Adrien really couldn't pick up any measure of relief in his father when they interacted, but maybe that was because the threat from Nathalie was still there.

(On his end, Adrien was making sure that his doors and windows were locked from the inside before he went to bed every night, just in case.)

There were still akuma attacks every day and Hawkmoth came out for most of them, but he was clearly pulling his punches and toning down the akuma, sending out basic models instead of working to amp up their powers. Fights didn't last long at all (Adrien's attendance record rejoiced), but Ladybug and Chat Noir amped up the acting, pretending that they were really working hard against the akuma. Using combo powers was common (Adrien's allowance wept under the pressure of keeping up with _two_ kwami diets), even though it _really_ wasn't necessary.

Having one kwami was _quite_ enough. Two (or even three) was _exhausting_, especially when they bickered as much as they did.

And then a wrench was thrown in their plans.

"A company _dinner?_" Adrien said disbelievingly as he scanned the schedule that had appeared at his spot at the table overnight. "And it runs from five to ten! I can't do that! I can't-" Adrien caught himself and glanced around before lowering his voice to a whisper. "Plagg, what am I gonna do? I can't make Ladybug go and do the potions on her own. It isn't _safe_. We can't pull in any of the temporary Miraculous holders, because they aren't as good at fighting and we don't want them leaking the news. And we don't want to miss a night, either."

Plagg yawned. "I don't know. My brain isn't turned on yet. I haven't had my cheese."

Groaning, Adrien scooped up a forkful of cheesy eggs. "You can have some of this. And I'll grab some Camembert for you before we leave."

"_Now_ you're talking my language!" Plagg swallowed the offered eggs in one gulp, then grinned at Adrien. "Get a prior commitment that you can't miss. Your father's probably only added that to your schedule to get you out of the house."

"But I already _have_ a prior commitment, I just can't tell him about it- oh! You mean make one up! But what if he checks on it?" Adrien frowned in thought, slouching at the table for a second before reflexively correcting his posture. "I mean, if I ask any of my friends they would probably agree. But Alya would interrogate me just out of curiosity and Nino would get concerned again about what I was hiding-"

"Then ask pigtails, duh."

"I feel like Marinette would be the same and get worried about why I needed to be somewhere and Father couldn't know about it." Still, Adrien fiddled with his fork, indecisive. "I suppose it couldn't hurt. She's been really helpful with the studying together thing and hasn't asked why I'm having trouble focusing all of a sudden."

"And your father has been allowing your little study dates with her," Plagg pointed out. "He clearly approves of Marinette."

"Yeah, I wasn't worried about _that_. It's mostly that I don't know what I would say if she asked what I was actually doing." Adrien finished up his breakfast and gathered up his things, casting a quick look around to make sure that he had everything. "Okay, let's go back up to my room to get my stuff and your Camembert, and then we can go to school."

Plagg cheered and dove into Adrien's jacket.

Marinette arrived five minutes after Adrien, carrying a small bakery box under her arm. Adrien perked up when he saw the croissants inside.

Really, it was a good thing that he was active as Chat Noir, because otherwise Adrien knew that he would be gaining weight with all of the bonus breakfasts that he was getting.

"I think we actually finished all of today's homework yesterday afternoon," Marinette said with a laugh as she settled down in Nino's old spot. It seemed that the two of them had decided to trade spots for the first two periods of every day before reverting to their old arrangement for the rest of their classes, through to the best of Adrien's knowledge neither of them had actually _discussed_ it. "So do you want to work on the Lit essay at all, or just leave it for now?"

"I've written most of that already, actually." Adrien was rather proud of that, actually. With the rest of his homework out of the way and his concerns about his mom finally having settled a bit (she was responding to squeezes to her hand now, even if that _response_ was only the smallest of twitches), he had managed to get a good chunk of the essay out of the way. "I'll try to get it finished up tonight, and then I'd love to have a second pair of eyes look at it."

"I'll bring mine in too, then, and we can trade," Marinette said cheerfully, and _that_ was why Adrien liked working with her on his homework. She made it feel like they were both helping each other instead of just her helping him because he was having a bit of trouble concentrating. It was just a lot more comfortable. "I have the rough draft done, but I know it could use some polishing up."

Adrien nodded. This was the _perfect_ time to ask if she would be willing to help him with an excuse to get out of the dinner, and he was suddenly nervous. But that was _ridiculous_, because this was _Marinette_ and Adrien knew that she was always willing to help out her friends. So he took a deep breath to steady himself before asking. "Hey, Mari? I have a problem I was wondering if you could help me with."

Instantly, all of Marinette's attention was on him. "Oh?"

"Yeah. So, my father gave me this schedule this morning, and he wants me to go to this dinner for the company later this week, but the problem is that I'm supposed to be somewhere else during part of that time and I- it's something that I can't tell him about," Adrien rushed out, words all a jumble. "And so I was wondering if maybe you could cover for me somehow? Like- I thought, maybe, if I said that I had another prior commitment-"

"If you said that you were with me?" Marinette finished, clearly already a step ahead of him. "Yeah, I could do that. Uh, when…?"

"Thursday evening," Adrien told her, relieved. His friend was clearly already focused on the logistics of the plan, eyes narrowed in thought. "I have somewhere to be just after eight."

"Right. So you would probably have to have an excuse for the entire evening, then, since people our age don't usually make plans to meet up _starting_ at eight on a weeknight," Marinette said, one hand already reaching for a notebook. "And you would need to come up with something that wasn't, like, just a casual get-together because that sort of thing could be easily rescheduled."

Oh. Yeah. Adrien hadn't thought of that, but Marinette had a point. A casual meet-up could be rescheduled and, from his father's point of view, it would be _better_ if it were rescheduled. It would mean that Adrien would be out of the house for another evening, which- since Mayura had been transformed several times in the past week- would be preferable. "So we couldn't just say that we were having another study date, then."

"I doubt it. But, uh." Marinette turned a light shade of pink. "If- if you said that we were out on an _actual_ date and that we had reservations somewhere, then maybe he wouldn't just say to change?"

"Oh!" Adrien thought about it. That sounded pretty reasonable, actually. Would it be believable to his father? Adrien didn't see why it wouldn't be. Marinette was one of his best friends, so it wasn't as though it would be coming out of nowhere. And she was really cute, too, which didn't hurt. "I- yeah, that sounds like a good idea."

"And you could keep using it as an excuse, too, if anything else comes up," Marinette added. "Which hopefully nothing else will, but…"

Marinette was officially _brilliant_. "Yeah, that sounds good! I'll text you if I'm using that excuse, so you don't get taken off-guard if my father calls."

"And- and if I need to get out of anything, can I use the same excuse?" Marinette asked after a moment. "I mean, I shouldn't have to, probably, because I don't usually have anything come up in the evenings, but there _is_ something that I'm doing that I, uh…"

"Yeah, of course," Adrien assured her automatically. "Whenever you need. But same thing- a heads-up would be good. Just so my first reaction if someone asks isn't 'huh?'"

Marinette nodded, giggling. "Yeah, _that_ wouldn't be good."

He was lucky to have a friend like Marinette, Adrien decided as the rest of the class started to filter in and Marinette turned her attention to her design notebook, a gorgeous dress taking shape as she sketched. Her excuse should work, and then he could meet up with Ladybug at his normal time. There was the problem of dinner, of course, but Adrien could ask the cook to pack him a dinner and then he could have a snack after he got back home.

It would work out. At least, that was what Adrien hoped.

* * *

Going into his father's office was nervewracking. Adrien gulped before knocking, hoping that he wouldn't have to deal with Nathalie. Her complete disappearance from his life strongly suggested that she was so far gone that even a glimpse would tip him off that something was wrong, and he knew from what Master Fu had told him that even the most ironclad excuse probably wouldn't cut it with Nathalie.

Hopefully his father was in and not up in his lair or down with Adrien's mom.

There was a quiet "_I'll get it!_" and hurried footsteps, and Adrien took a step back just before his father slipped out of the office, closing the door behind him.

"Father!" Adrien said, trying to act at least _marginally_ surprised. "I wanted to talk to you about my new schedule-"

"Is something wrong with it?" Mr. Agreste asked, holding his hand out. Adrien placed his schedule in it, and Mr. Agreste frowned as he scanned it. "It looks fine to me. Do you have exams coming up or something?"

"No- well, not _quite_ yet, they're a couple weeks out- but it's- it's the company dinner," Adrien told him. "I already had a prior commitment for that night, I just hadn't gotten to tell Nathalie about it because I haven't seen her around."

His father went pale for a couple seconds at the mention of Nathalie before visibly composing himself. "And may I ask what this prior engagement is?"

Adrien nodded, suddenly nervous that his father would insist on meeting Marinette in person or investigating her family or something. That was ridiculous, though, because _clearly_ Mr. Agreste already had enough on his plate without turning on Neurotic Parenting Mode. "A- a date. With Marinette. We- we had reservations for that evening."

Mr. Agreste blinked, surprised, and then his expression turned almost _pleased_. "Marinette Dupain-Cheng? The girl who made the feathered hat?"

"Yeah."

Adrien had to blink several times before he accepted that the expression that he was seeing on his father's face was actually a smile, but no, he wasn't seeing things. "Very well. Have fun on your date. Just don't stay out too late. And I will make the change to your schedule."

"Thank you, Father."

Mr. Agreste nodded, then hovered for a second as though he wanted to say something else. After a second, though, he gave himself a small shake. "Will that be all?"

"Yes, Father."

With one last nod, Mr. Agreste vanished back into his office. Adrien headed upstairs, puzzled beyond belief. He had expected a little arguing at the _very_ least, maybe a comment that he needed to have told _some_ adult about the date prior to going on it and what about the clouds of fans that Adrien sometimes attracted? But his father had…. approved?

As soon as Adrien got into his room and shut the door, Plagg fell out of his jacket, positively _howling_. "Your father ships you with pigtails!"

"He- no, he just approves of Marinette!" Adrien protested, cheeks turning pink. "Because she's a designer and she's really good for her age. And because she hasn't ticked him off, like Nino and Alya do."

"He's going to keep asking you if you're going to be going on more dates," Plagg sing-songed. "He's going to tell you to have at least one per week, because he wants her as a daughter-in-law."

Adrien was pretty sure that his cheekbones were going to start melting with how hot his cheeks were getting. "Plagg, cut it out."

"He wants you to _kiss_-"

"Do you _want_ me to take away your Camembert?"

Plagg yelped. "No, no, I'll behave!"

* * *

Adrien went to Master Fu's apartment after his Wednesday fencing let out early. For once, he could go straight in without having to wait for a customer to finish up first.

"Ah, Chat Noir," Master Fu said as soon as Adrien showed himself in. "Come to check on the status of the potion?"

Adrien nodded.

"We're still waiting on two ingredients," Master Fu told him. "Well, three, technically, but Ladybug will be picking up the third one from a shop across town tomorrow, so I know when I'll be getting it. But one of the things that I'm waiting on- I had to get in touch with a contact living in Tibet, and they had to hike out to this area to harvest this moss, then dry it and get paperwork to ship it to Paris. But it'll be on the way shortly."

"So there's still a bit of a wait, then." Adrien tried not to sound _too_ disappointed. "I suppose it's hard to know what ingredients you have to have on hand."

"And I ran out of some of them years ago or had them turn into dust and then never replenished my supply. I'll be rectifying that mistake when I have the time."

Adrien nodded, at a little bit of a loss as to what to say. He had hoped to stick his head in and find out that they would be waking his mom up in the next couple of days, but that was clearly not happening. "So we're just going to keep giving her the other potions?"

"They won't hurt. If she gets enough of them, she might wake up and be ready to move around on her own right away." Master Fu headed across the room, to where a teapot was sitting on a single burner. "So perhaps we should talk about what you should be expecting after your mom wakes up from her curse."

"She won't be back to normal right away?" Adrien shouldn't have been surprised, really, but somehow he was. It might have had something to do with the fact that the effects of Ladybug's Miraculous Cure were immediate and complete.

Master Fu shook his head as he poured out two large cups of tea and two smaller ones for the kwamis. "She'll wake up, but she'll likely be tired. She's essentially been in a coma for over a year and that has side effects of its own. Even with the potions, she'll likely be up and about for _maybe_ an hour or so before needing to rest. If we had caught her immediately after she fell into a coma, it would be different. She would only need a day or so to recover."

That made sense. Adrien frowned as another thought hit him. "What about Nathalie? Will she need a while to recover?"

Master Fu paused in the middle of measuring out tea leaves to go in their cup. With a sigh, he sat back. "Recovering from Heart is….different. It can be a shock to the body. And this is an odd situation, since the decline is so fast. It's hard to say how long she might take to heal without getting a reading on her aura in-person."

Adrien frowned. "Will it be hard? I mean, we would have had practice casting it with my mom."

"It will be a different spell- different _spells_, in fact- and it will require more work. There is a reason why most people tend to go with Body when they deal with the curse, aside from the fact that the mind is unaffected. Only the Ladybug and Black Cat are needed to reverse the effects of Body. All seven of the top level are needed for Heart."

There was a pause at that.

"So… someone is going to have to wear a cursed Miraculous to cure Nathalie?" Adrien asked tentatively. "Because that doesn't sound fun."

"No, we would remove the curse first," Master Fu assured him. "Which will be a pain, and I will have to sit down with the Peacock pin and figure out what curse is on it. So she will have to be defeated, restrained, separated from her Miraculous both physically and with the spell, and then I will have to spend some time to examine it and free Duusu. Then he'll have to recover before it would be safe for anyone to transform with him again."

Adrien nodded, then frowned. "Wait, so how does the curse work? Is there not just one curse?"

"It could be one of several. It trapped Duusu inside, and he can't recharge like normal. I'm guessing that your mom had been keeping the Miraculous in a pile of food to reduce the effects as much as possible." Master Fu gave his tea a stir. "Unfortunately, even that couldn't completely alleviate the effects."

"So…. whatever the curse takes from the wielder basically does the same thing that food does normally?" Adrien asked, frowning. "That….is weird."

"Yeah, we prefer food to power ourselves, but we can also feed on _your_ energy, your soul, or your sanity," Plagg said with a yawn. "Not nearly as tasty as Camembert, if you ask me."

Master Fu frowned at that. _"Plagg_."

"What? It isn't!"

"Wait, so if _I _were to transform without feeding you enough, would…?"

Plagg snorted. "Nah, I would just start the countdown timer earlier. We don't use alternative sources unless we literally have no other choice. Like I _just_ said, they're not anywhere near as good as Camembert or even Mozzarella, and-"

"They compromise our Chosen," Wayzz cut in. "So we would _never_ willingly use them. The curse is meant to keep people from wearing the Miraculous."

Adrien frowned. "But you know how to remove it, and it sounds like it wouldn't be a _super_ hard thing to do."

"It's hard to get my hands on all of the supplies that I could possibly need," Master Fu admitted. "So it _would_ keep someone from transforming normally. In a battle, it would take a user out."

"_If_ they knew what the side effects would be and took them seriously," Wayzz added. "Which everyone in the temple _would_."

Adrien nodded. That made sense, mostly. Clearly the curse wasn't slowing Nathalie down at all, but she was presumably so far gone that it was to be expected.

He didn't look forward to the day when she decided that enough was enough and came out into battle herself. That was why he and Ladybug were _still_ on high alert during (and after) fights- and whenever they were transformed, really- even though Hawkmoth was largely not a concern anymore. Hopefully they would manage to figure out a plan for how to confront her before that happened, but with every fight where Mayura stepped in, he got a bit more nervous that she would see that as the obvious next step.

"So are we going to start coming up with a plan to do that- to restrain Nathalie and get her away from her Miraculous?" Adrien asked after a pause. "I mean, we want to do that soon."

Master Fu took a slow sip of tea, clearly thinking. "Well, yes, we don't want to delay more than necessary. But if we start planning too soon, the situation may change. I was thinking that we would wait to attack until your mom is out of the cavern, in case things go sideways and any of the fighting causes the house or the tunnels below it to collapse."

"Oh!" Adrien hadn't thought of that. "Okay, that makes sense. But we _are_ working towards it?"

"Of course. We _do_ want to get Paris back to normal as soon as possible, and I'm sure that both you and Ladybug would appreciate not having your school days interrupted all of the time." Master Fu smiled at Adrien. "I know it must be disruptive."

"It's fine," Adrien said, shrugging. "Especially now that we're having fairly easy fights. I mean, I'm sure my teachers think that I have, like, a super-weak bladder or something, but I can deal with that."

Master Fu laughed. "Such is the price you pay to be a superhero."

Adrien could only grin. "If that's all, I think I'll take it."

* * *

_a/n: How did this fake dating sneak into my ever-so-serious story? Clearly it's the most obvious solution to, uh, every problem ever._

_As always, reviews make my day! :)_


	12. Better

For the first time in nearly a week, Adrien found himself smiling without realizing it as he chatted with his friends between classes, the near-constant worrying absent for the time being.

It felt good.

Master Fu had texted him that morning with the news that the last of the potion ingredients were on the way as of the night before, which meant that they would be able to start work on the potion soon. His mom's breathing and heart rates were moving into the normal range- well, _normal_ for a deep sleep or coma, at least- and she was swallowing Ladybug's potions more easily now. Master Fu had even said that she would likely be able to get out of the cavern under her own power once they woke her up. They were coming up with a plan to trap Mayura with minimal fighting, too, which sounded like it _should_ work.

Even though there were two supervillains in his home (or maybe he should just be counting them as one and a half, since his father wasn't actively trying to defeat the superheroes anymore?), Adrien was feeling less stressed. He could actually sleep decently at night. What little homework that he _didn't_ get done with Marinette- at this point, it had already turned into a habit, because it was actually _enjoyable_\- he could complete at home, without being overly distracted.

"You're doing better," Marinette commented happily as they headed for their next class. She linked her arm around his, and Adrien grinned at the easy contact. Not so long ago, he would never have believed that they would get this close, but he was glad that they had. More friends was never a bad thing, and with Nino so distracted by Alya and their relationship at the moment, it was nice to have Marinette to talk to. "More cheerful."

"I'm actually getting enough sleep now," Adrien told her. "And some things that weren't going great have gotten better. And my homework isn't taking _anywhere_ near as long as it usually does."

"Yeah, I had heard that you two have been doing your homework together," Alya chimed in, and Adrien startled. He hadn't seen her lurking directly behind the two of them. "And your father actually allows it?"

"He does!" Adrien grinned, trying not to blush as he remembered just how much his father approved. "He approves of Marinette. I think it would be different if it were more of a distraction than a help, but we study _really_ well together."

"Of course you do, you're both crazy smart." Nino appeared at Adrien's other side. He eyed Adrien and Marinette's interlocked arms but didn't comment. "I was surprised when you started doing homework together since I always thought of that as something that people only did when they were having trouble, but..."

Adrien just shrugged. "This way, we're together to talk over any problems we might be having right away. And we can brainstorm on stuff, or both look for an answer so that there's less chance of us missing something, or..." He shrugged. There were all sorts of ways that he and Marinette could help each other during the homework, even if they _could_ have done it on their own. If one of them had trouble understanding something, most of the time the other person had a decent enough understanding of it that they could figure things out. "It works well."

Nino only shrugged. He didn't look like he was judging or anything, but he didn't look like he _understood_, either.

And that was _exactly_ why Adrien had gone to Marinette first. She had a talent for figuring out what people needed and being understanding about those needs. Nino was decent enough at school, but he wasn't _super_ serious about it, and he wasn't super-bothered if he didn't completely understand a concept or what a teacher had been talking about in class. Alya already kept herself busy with babysitting and the Ladyblog and _besides_, she didn't care much about the science and math classes as much as she did Lit and Social Studies. Marinette wasn't _hugely_ interested in those classes either, but she wanted to do well, and from some of the projects she had showed him, she had at least a _little_ interest in small-scale engineering and she had to be familiar with math to make her ideas into reality.

Besides, Marinette had told him, sometimes something that she learned in class sparked an idea in her mind, even if it was something math-y. Her creativity wasn't limited to designing clothes, that was obvious.

She would _love_ to see the miniature Miraculous box in his bag, Adrien just knew it. With all of the hidden gears and latches and locks, it was a _serious_ engineering project. It was also _gorgeously_ designed, the pattern that Ladybug had made curling around the box.

Engineering and art, coming together for something positively Miraculous.

Madam Mendeleev was waiting for them at the door, box in her hand to collect their homework. Adrien handed in his packet, proud that he was able to say that he knew it was well done, despite the week that he had had. Marinette tossed her packet in on top of his, and Adrien caught it with a laugh when he noticed that she had somehow forgotten to put her name on it.

"That's literally the easiest question on there," Adrien teased as he passed packet and pen over to his red-faced friend. "You're supposed to do that bit first!"

"Oh, _hush_ you."

"Good thing you have Adrien watching your back, huh?" Alya teased as Marinette turned her packet back in to an unamused Madam Mendeleev and headed to her seat. "Otherwise Madam M. would take points off of your homework. _Again_."

Adrien winced. On one hand, it made sense. Trying to figure out which student went with which nameless packet was extra work for their teachers, and extra work meant extra time grading, which was no fun. There needed to be a deterrent to make people remember to put their names on in the first place. On the _other_ hand, though, it did seem a _bit_ mean to take points off when all of Marinette's work was good.

...he might just keep an eye out to make sure that Marinette put her name on all of her assignments when they were doing homework together. It would be a good way to pay her back for all of the delicious bakery treats that she had brought him over the past- well, over the past week for sure, and all of the intermittent treats that she had brought before that. She had been endlessly supportive, and it was only fair that he provide some support in return.

(And on top of _that_, even, she had probably saved his grades by helping him keep on track and focused when he was still reeling from the discoveries that his father was Hawkmoth, Nathalie was Mayura, and his mom was in a magical coma. So he would only be returning the favor, really.)

"All right, class!" Madam Mendeleev called, setting the box of packets down behind her desk and clapping once to get the class's attention. "As you know, we're on track to finish up our current unit before the holidays. We'll be wrapping up the unit with group presentations on different countries' current events. I want everyone to pair up, though there _will_ be one group of three- _one_ group, I said, not three, that's not going to work out. You have until tomorrow to work out the groups among yourselves. Now sit down, get your notebooks out, put your phones _away_\- yes, that means you, too, Ms. Rossi. It's as though none of you have ever been in a classroom before, honestly."

Adrien exchanged a glance with Nino, trying not to grin again. Their teacher did this every day, even though she knew full well that by the time the bell rang for the start of class, they would all be settled and more or less focused. It was routine, it was normal, and that was good.

* * *

"Part of me wants to be offended that Nino and Alya just decided for us that they were going to get paired up together and we would be together for Mendeleev's group project without actually consulting us, but I was kinda planning on it going that way anyway, so I don't know if I really have a foot to stand on."

Marinette laughed as she tucked her Literature notebook away, their homework for that class completed and ready for the next day. "You know that they were going to do that eventually. Besides, it makes sense. We spend a ton of time doing schoolwork together anyway."

Adrien nodded as he watched Marinette sift through her bag to try to find her Civics notebook. She had a point, he knew, and it was nice to mix things up after he and Nino had been paired together so frequently for projects. Besides, Nino always complained when Adrien had to vanish for a bit (for an akuma attack, but he couldn't _say_ that), whereas Marinette hadn't said anything about that yet.

Hopefully he and Ladybug would get the fight all wrapped up before his disappearances started getting _another_ friend annoyed with him.

Marinette finally found the notebook she was looking for and she tossed it onto the table, making a piece of paper flutter free. "Okay! So, do we want to look at the list of topics that Madam Mendeleev gave us now and decide top three so that we're ready to go tomorrow as soon as we get into class?"

"Sure," Adrien agreed at once, reaching across the table to snag the paper and give it back to Marinette. He glanced at it, seeing _Party Planning_ scrawled across the top. "What's this for? Does someone have a birthday soon?"

Marinette shook her head as she took the paper back, spreading it out on the table in front of her. "It's not a birthday party. As class president, I'm in charge of planning and arranging the holiday party for the class." She winced. "The holiday party in, uh, less than two and a half weeks."

"That's, uh, not very far away," Adrien managed, glancing over Marinette's shoulder to take a look at her notes again. They seemed fairly scribbled and sparse so far. "Wouldn't planning for a Chris- sorry, for a holiday party start a little farther out?"

Marinette groaned. "Yeah, but I've been busy. I've not had a lot of time to work on Christmas presents this year, and so I wanted to work on those first because planning is portable, at least, and technically Alya should be helping me with this as Vice President, but she's been busy with her sisters and with Nino and that revamp that she's working on for the Ladyblog, and-"

Adrien blinked. This was the first he was hearing of anything going on with the Ladyblog. "She's revamping the Ladyblog?"

"Yeah, she's trying to make it look maybe a little more professional, and more organized, and maybe add some links or new sections and-oh!" Marinette clapped her hands to her mouth, then sent Adrien a sheepish look as she lowered them. "Uh, could you maybe forget that I mentioned anything at all? She wanted it to be a surprise."

Adrien mimed zipping his lips. "My lips are sealed."

"Thank you."

"Okay, so getting back to the party, what do you have planned?" Adrien asked. He pushed his Civics notebook to the side- they could always discuss topics in the morning, after all- and focused all of his attention on Marinette. "I'll stand in for Alya, since you shouldn't have to do all of this work alone."

The relief on Marinette's face was obvious. "Oh my _god_, I could kiss you right now." Then she turned red. "Uh, can you forget that, too?"

Adrien couldn't help but laugh. "No promises."

Marinette buried her face in her hands and groaned, then sighed as she extracted her face and considered the paper in front of her again. "Well, I don't want to do anything specific to any holiday, because I know Nathaniel at least celebrates Hanukah instead of Christmas and he always looks so uncomfortable when we have all of these Christmas-focused activities to do all day. So I want to shake it up. So far I have stuff like decorate the classroom with snowflakes, and... that's all, really. And we get homeroom plus final period to actually have the party."

Adrien winced. That...wasn't much. "Okay. Maybe we can focus on one area at a time? So the snowflakes can be our decoration, and maybe we could have glitter or something to decorate them? That makes it more of an art project."

"_Glitter_," Marinette muttered, but she wrote it down anyway. "Gosh, the custodial staff are going to _love_ you."

"Well, if it's glitter _glue_, it won't be so bad, right?" Adrien asked. "It would add an extra touch to the snowflakes, but without all of the mess of loose glitter."

"It's worth a try."

"We could do snowmen, too," Adrien added. "Also seasonal, also non-holiday. As a bonus, we can keep them up for the rest of the winter."

"Snowmen," Marinette repeated, adding it to the list. "And I might grab some silver tinsel, just for a bit of extra sparkle in the room. That might be good for decoration and art, and most of that will happen in homeroom, probably. Next category?"

Adrien didn't even have to think about it. "Snacks?"

Marinette giggled. "Why am I not even surprised? This should be an easy one. We've always had a sign-up list for the different stuff- plates, napkins, silverware, cups, cookies, chips, popcorn, uh..." She thought about it. "Aaand I'm coming up blank."

"Something to drink," Adrien suggested. "Punch, maybe?"

"That sounds good." Marinette glanced back at the list she was scribbling down. "I know there's more than that. We usually group plates and napkins together, and same with cups and silverware. And then one or two people sign up for all of the other categories. Sometimes people bring more than one thing, so we have plenty to eat."

"And I remember your Yule log cake from last year," Adrien added. He grinned. "I remember it _fondly_."

"You and your bottomless stomach." Still, Marinette was smiling. Then she frowned. "Is that too Christmas-y? I mean, I know people love it, but..."

Adrien had to think about that. "I think it's more wintery than strictly holiday. Weren't the original logs- the wood logs, not the cake ones, I mean- more of a pagan holiday thing?"

"Is it?" Marinette thought about it for a second. "I mean, I guess that would make sense."

Adrien leaned over to rest his chin on her shoulder, pulling out his best kitten eyes. "So... are you bringing a Yule log cake?"

"I- _yes_, okay, fine, I'll bring it! Put those kitten eyes _away_, Adrien, I'll bring the Yule cake. Now can we get back to brainstorming?"

* * *

"School let out some time ago, did it not?"

Adrien tried not to wince as he stepped inside the mansion, only to find his father waiting for him in the atrium, a displeased look on his face as he surveyed his son. Adrien had _thought_ that his father was fine with him staying after to do homework with Marinette, so this sudden disapproval was a bit out of the blue. Had something changed? "I was staying after to do homework-"

"With your girlfriend, correct?"

Adrien very nearly reacted to that- after all, he didn't_ have _a girlfriend- before he remembered what he had told his father. "Right. We worked together on our homework in the library."

"Normally you return nearly an hour earlier. Tonight you made both your driver and the cook wait."

"Sorry, Father." Adrien ducked his head. He and Marinette had been having such a fun time party-planning that they had lost track of time, though at least they had made some _really_ good progress. "Marinette is class president and is in charge of planning the class holiday party, but her vice president hasn't been able to help her and she was _really_ far behind. I offered to step in and assist, and we lost track of time."

For some reason, that made his father's expression shift again, just like it had when Adrien had told Mr. Agreste that he was dating Marinette. "Class president, you say?"

"Yes, Father." Adrien couldn't keep the small smile off of his face. "She ousted Chloe in the class election last year, and she does an _amazing_ job. Alya is supposed to be helping her but, well..." He shrugged. He didn't want to speak badly of Alya, really- after all, she _was_ his friend- but Marinette had apparently reminded Alya about the need to plan the party several days prior and hadn't gotten any help. Even if she hadn't admitted it, Adrien wouldn't be surprised if the same thing had happened before. Alya seemed to have tunnel vision sometimes when she had something else she wanted to do. "She's been busy."

"Perhaps you could run as her vice president next year," Mr. Agreste suggested. "It would look good when you apply to university. Those sorts of positions show leadership skills."

Adrien worried his lip. While he had considered the same thing- except not for uni applications, just because Marinette clearly needed a supportive VP and Alya was a bit too distracted to properly do that- he was worried that _he_ might end up flaking out on Marinette, too, because of his obligations as Chat Noir. But now that he was thinking about it... well, the akuma battles _should_ be ending long before the next class election, so he could stop randomly disappearing. "I'll consider it. _If_ we get lucky enough to be in the same class again next year, that is."

"Considering that the school hasn't seen fit to mix up the class lists for this year, I would say that the chances of you and you girlfriend ending up in same class next year are probably pretty high." Mr. Agreste glanced back at the office, then at Adrien. "If you need to help her more with the holiday party, just text your driver or I to let us know where you are and when to expect you."

"Of course, Father."

"And when will your next date with her be?" Mr. Agreste inquired. "Are you going for every week, every other week...?"

"Uh." His father's interest was, frankly, somewhat puzzling. "We hadn't discussed that yet but, uh, maybe we'll go out to lunch together next?"

Mr. Agreste nodded. "Be sure that you do. You don't want to let _too_ much time elapse between dates, or it can let the relationship cool. Though perhaps you don't have to worry _nearly_ as much, since you hang out with Marinette every day at school."

Adrien was frankly puzzled by the relationship advice (and additionally, he didn't think that it would be the greatest idea to take relationship advice- or _any_ sort of advice, really- from a man who had decided to turn to supervillainry in order to revive his wife), but he couldn't let that show. "I- right, I won't wait too long."

"Good." Mr. Agreste hovered for a second more, then gave a sharp nod and turned back to head into the office. "Clean up for dinner quickly. Your food is getting cold."

Adrien nodded, watching with some level of bemusement as his father left. A pinch at his side reminded Adrien that he needed to actually get to dinner, and he hurried up the steps to his room to drop off his school things before going to dinner. He had just stepped inside the door when Plagg burst out, cackling.

"Oh, hush," Adrien grumbled, blush appearing on his cheeks. "That was _weird_. He's actually gotten invested now that I've brought up Marinette. I don't understand."

"He's trying to set you up!" Plagg chimed in, cackling. Then, unexpectedly, he settled down, becoming more serious. "Or- well, it's possible that now that he's chosen a different path for getting your mom to recover, he's realized that everything in this timeline will stay the same."

That made Adrien pause. "You- do you think that that's why he got all distant and cold? Because it would just get erased later on?"

"Kid, I can't read your father's mind. But..." Plagg paused, and Adrien waited, getting his things set down at the end of his bet while Plagg figured out what to say. "I mean, it's either that, or he knows that he's going to jail and only has so much time left to actually be a father. Or both."

Adrien swallowed hard. That was true. Even though he _could_ visit his father in jail, it wouldn't be the same. Nothing would be. It wasn't as though his father didn't deserve it- because he definitely, definitely did- but that didn't change the fact that Mr. Agreste would probably be in jail until long after Adrien had left the house to live on his own.

Maybe they didn't have the best relationship- that was an understatement, really- but it would- it would just be _different_.

"I'd enjoy it while you have it, kid," Plagg told him. "Strange as it is." He sniggered. "And even though you aren't _actually_ dating pigtails. Yet."

Adrien tried not to sigh. It was pointless arguing with Plagg about Marinette. Then he caught sight of the clock and yelped. "I gotta go eat! Otherwise I'm gonna be late to meet up with Ladybug!"

"Oh, yes, pigtails 2.0," Plagg drawled. "You wouldn't want to miss your date with _her_."

"Oh, for- for Pete's sake, Plagg, it's _not_ a date!"

* * *

His mom's hand twitched back ever-so-slightly at the first dab of cool, sparkly blue potion. Chat Noir paused, startled, and then a grin split his face.

"She's getting closer," Ladybug commented, a grin on her own face. "Though Master Fu said that after so long in a coma, she's not likely to be able to wake up on her own without the spell. But she's getting her energy back for sure."

"It's great to see her having reflexive reactions," Chat Noir said happily. He started dabbing the potion on again, trying not to let a silly grin slide onto his face at each little twitch of his mom's fingers. "After we got in here the first time and she was so still..."

"_That_ was awful," Ladybug agreed. "And she's not so pale anymore. She actually looks _alive, _but just asleep."

He grinned.

The cavern wasn't so depressing these days, now that its occupant wasn't looking quite so dead. He could stand to look at his mom for more than a couple seconds without being worried about her deathly-pale (and deathly _still_) face working its way into his nightmares.

That didn't mean that Chat Noir wanted to hang around, though. The space was still eerie, and any little noise made him tense up. Considering that there was moving water in the cavern, there were a _lot_ of little noises.

He was tense, tense, _tense_.

Thankfully Ladybug didn't seem as easily startled as he was, because she was still carefully applying drops of potion under his mom's tongue, her own tongue sticking out in concentration as she worked. It was a delicate process, for sure- she could only give so much at once, to make sure that it all got swallowed- but Ladybug had a delicate touch.

It was a funny contrast, when he normally saw her kicking butt and fiercely knocking aside akumas, but somehow it suited her just as well.

"Only, what, a week left?" Chat Noir asked as they packed up again. He reached back and gave his mom's hand a quick squeeze when Ladybug couldn't see it, unable to resist grinning as her hand shifted in his. "Depending on how long it takes for things to get here."

"And how long it takes for Master Fu to cook up the potion," Ladybug added. She stepped up to his side and together, they gently closed the glass lid before heading out, Pollen and Trixx flying after them. "He hasn't told me how long that will take yet, but my guess-"

"The elevator is moving!" Trixx yelped all of a sudden, making both superheroes jump and yelp. "It's coming down! Move, move, _move!_"

Ladybug and Chat Noir exchanged a look and then they ran, not even bothering to try to make their footsteps soundless as they dashed for the door at the far end of the cavern, praying that they would make it before the elevator made it all the way down. With a final push, they burst through the door at full speed, only barely managing to keep it from flying into the tunnel wall. Ladybug skidded to a stop and turned to close the door behind them, only just managing to keep it from slamming at the last minute. They slumped to the floor in relief as Trixx re-locked the door from the inside, both of them panting.

Chat Noir's heart was racing. What if that had happened only a couple minutes earlier, when he and Ladybug were still dealing with the potions? That was _way_ too close.

"Let's come later tomorrow," Ladybug suggested in a hushed whisper. "Mix up the time a little bit. We probably should have been doing that before, so that no one could track our movements."

"Yeah," Chat Noir agreed. He pushed himself up, then offered Ladybug a hand. "Maybe forty-five minutes later than usual tomorrow, and then we can decide from there?"

Trixx popped back through the door before Ladybug could respond, startling them both. Much to their relief, there was a smile on his small face.

"It was only Mr. Agreste!" Trixx reported. "He definitely didn't hear you guys. We got out just in time."

"So it wouldn't have been _terrible_ if we had gotten caught," Chat Noir said as they started down the tunnel. "Just not ideal."

"I'd feel obligated to completely change up our time if we ran into him," Ladybug told him, glancing back and giving the door a wary look. "After all, he still comes in contact with Mayura every day. The less information he has about where we are and when, the better. Just in case she catches on."

Chat Noir nodded. He hadn't thought about that, but it made sense.

Their path was almost ingrained in his head by now, so Chat Noir took the lead, using his baton as a flashlight so that Ladybug could see, too. They had just made it through their Cataclysmed shortcut when a yell stopped them.

"You two! Stop right there!"

Chat Noir startled so badly he nearly tripped as he spun towards the voice. He nearly slid into a battle stance on instinct, but Ladybug's hand on his arm stopped him.

"It's a catacombs officer," Ladybug commented, sounding a little surprised. "I knew there were some down here, but I didn't think that we would run into them."

"Entering closed sections of the catacombs is strictly forbidden!" the officer continued, apparently having not yet figured out who they were as he jogged towards them over the uneven tunnel ground. "It is against the law, and I will have to bring you two to, uh..." He came to a stop and squinted at them. "Ladybug? Chat Noir? What are you doing down here?"

"We had to come down on superhero business," Ladybug told him, professional voice slipping into place. "It has to do with defeating Hawkmoth. We never linger."

He blinked, eyes still scanning them up and down as though he was still trying to make sure that they were the real deal and not just a couple kids dressed up in superhero costumes. "I- I see. May I assume that you were responsible for breaking open the wall that was here and clearing the debris that had been here before?"

Chat Noir raised one hand. "That was me. We needed a shorter path to our destination, because, uh..." He started floundering. It wasn't a great idea for _anyone_ to know the superheroes' plans, even a police officer. "Um."

"We needed a _significantly_ shorter path, so that we would be able to return to the surface quickly in case there was an akuma attack," Ladybug told him with a small smile. "Our first path was something like forty-five minutes in one direction."

"Yes, yes, of course. That wouldn't be great." The officer looked a bit unsure. "Um, I guess you can continue, then. As long as you aren't just coming down here for fun."

Chat Noir shuddered. "I'd prefer not to be down here at all, honestly, so no worries about that."

"Hanging around underground isn't my idea of fun," Ladybug agreed. "And don't worry, we're not going to need to Cataclysm any more new tunnels. It was just the once."

The officer nodded. With a quick good-bye, the superheroes headed off, wasting no time in getting back up to the surface and onto the top of a building.

"I thought he was going to escort us back up to the surface for a minute there," Chat Noir commented as they watched a few snowflakes start floating down from the sky. "He really didn't seem sure about if he was meant to let us through or not."

"And he seemed torn about us being responsible for the wall down there that we got rid of," Ladybug added. "Since _technically_ that probably counts as destruction of city property. I could probably fix that, though, once we get Mrs. Agreste out. I would just have to think about both the fight and the wall that we got rid of at the same time."

Chat Noir made a face at that. "I don't know. Maybe we shouldn't, since there might be someone down there when you do the Cure and they might get trapped on the other side and not be able to figure out their way out. It's not like they would have cell phone service or GPS or anything down there so that they could get help if that _did_ happen."

"Fair enough. I didn't think of that." Ladybug adjusted the strap of her bag across her shoulders and surveyed the city before returning her attention to Chat Noir. "Well, _that _was more excitement than we were hoping for. But I guess now we can say good-night, then-"

A scream cut through the night, and in unison, the superheroes' akuma alerts on their weapons went off. They exchanged an exasperated look as they silenced the alarms.

"I guess I'll swing by home first and drop the bag off, and then I'll catch up to you," Ladybug said as she straightened out of her crouch and pulled out her yo-yo. "See you in a couple minutes?"

"That sounds like a plan, my Lady."

* * *

_a/n: Next time: STUFF HAPPENS. It couldn't go smoothly forever, right?_

_As always, reviews make my day! :)_


	13. Tumbling

Fencing practice had become one Adrien's most important activities over the past year and a half. While he had certainly taken it seriously before, ever since he became Chat Noir it had gotten even more important.

He had to be light on his feet and strike with precision and certainty. He had to dodge and weave, avoiding hits while staying on the offensive. He had to learn to anticipate his opponents' moves before they did them so that he could get the upper hand. And he learned to master tricky hits and blocks.

Even though his fighting style and opponents in akuma fights were different than what Adrien did in fencing, every last little bit of practice helped. So even when Adrien was exhausted from an akuma fight- it hadn't been a _dangerous_ akuma earlier in the day, just one that liked vanishing and reappearing across the city- he pushed himself to put his best foot forward and get as much as he could out of his fencing lesson.

"Good job today," Kagami told him as they packed up their bags. "I could tell that you were worn out, but you certainly put forth a good effort."

Adrien winced. "You could tell?"

Kagami patted his arm. "Don't be discouraged. You still did very well- you _won_ three of our five fights, did you not?- but there was a little less energy than normal behind it. It was still far better than anyone else in the class."

"There's that, at least." Adrien made a face, then sighed. "I'll be better next time, I'm sure."

"I should hope so." Kagami waved, then left. Adrien lagged behind, packing his gear into his bag.

"Don't beat yourself up about it," Plagg said, appearing from inside the now-empty box of Camembert that Adrien had packed. "She said you did a good job, yeah?"

"I wasn't beating myself up about it. I'm just tired, that's all." Now that he wasn't fighting, the adrenaline had faded away and Adrien just wanted to go home and land face-first in his bed. "I'm going to have to rest up before I go out with Ladybug. Maybe I should have just called out of fencing sick or something, but I have to learn how to fight."

Plagg snorted. "Kid, you _know_ how to fight. You've got fencing down. Now, if you were to pick up something _different_, like bo staff fighting, then I would say don't skip that."

Adrien considered that as he headed out to the waiting car. "I might consider picking that up once- well, once Mayura is defeated, I guess. I was going to say once _Hawkmoth_ is defeated but I guess he kind of already is, huh?"

"Let's wait until we have the Miraculous in hand before we say that, kid."

Adrien just shrugged as he left the school and jogged down the steps. "Still! We know where it is, we know who has it, and we know who has the Peacock. It's a _lot_ better than where we were a month ago. _And_ my mom is getting better."

The ride home from school was fast, as always, and then Adrien slid out of the car to head up into his house, already planning what he was going to do first. He and Marinette had gotten a chunk of their homework done over lunch and then he had gotten a bit more done before fencing started, but he had to finish the rest before going out to meet Ladybug because it would be too late to focus when he got home. If he had some tea, maybe it would help him perk up again. A light snack would be good for sure, but the chef was always hesitant to send up any snacks right before dinner.

It wouldn't hurt to try, Adrien decided. As long as he didn't ask for anything large or particularly filling, there was a _chance_ that he might get a yes.

Adrien pushed open the front door and was immediately met with the sound of yelling, angry voices overlapping with each other.

Adrien's breath caught in his throat. That did not sound like _good_ yelling, if such a thing even existed. Nathalie's voice was loudest, and she did _not_ sound pleased.

Before Adrien could pick out any words, though, the Gorilla had placed one large hand on his shoulder and was steering him back out of the house, back to the car. Adrien glanced up at his bodyguard, about to protest, but the words died on his lips. The Gorilla looked _shaken_.

That had _never_ happened before.

Adrien got bundled back into the car, and then it was headed back out of the gates. They headed across the city, though the Gorilla clearly wasn't sure where he was going.

They paused near the Louvre, but then the Gorilla huffed, shook his head, and continued. They went past the Grand Paris, but it got another head-shake. The zoo got the same treatment, as did the school. Then they went past the Dupain-Cheng Bakery, and the Gorilla gave a considering hum. They looped around the block and came to a stop right next to the bakery's side door.

"What are we doing here?" Adrien asked, puzzled. "I thought-"

The Gorilla nodded towards the door, then typed up a quick message on his phone for Adrien to read before passing it over. Adrien read it and despite himself, he turned pink.

_You should hang out with your girlfriend for now. I will get you when the situation at home calms down._

Again with the _girlfriend_. The only way that the Gorilla could have known about it was if Mr. Agreste had brought it up on his own, which….well, Adrien wasn't going to spend _too_ much time thinking about it.

"Ah, yeah, I'll do that," Adrien agreed hastily, trying his best to sound normal. "Thanks. And I'll turn up the volume on my phone so I can hear when you message me."

The Gorilla nodded, then waited for Adrien to get out of the car and knock at the door before driving off. Now alone, Adrien let out a long breath before letting himself fully consider what he had seen- or rather, what he had heard.

Nathalie and his father in a fight. Two supervillains- one heartless, one secretly having given in to Ladybug and Chat Noir- were disagreeing over something. Adrien's guess was that it was over how weak the akumas had been and how he needed to be willing to do more to win. While his father _could_ transform, Nathalie could, too, and then they could actually do some damage to each other. Add in the fact that his father _was_ still injured from Chat Noir's claws pulling him off of Ladybug...

Maybe he should be transforming and going over to monitor the situation. Maybe- maybe he should have stopped the Gorilla from going home, because _he_ definitely didn't have a Miraculous and Adrien didn't know if Ladybug could cure anything outside of an akuma battle. Maybe-

Marinette's mom opened the door, positively lighting up when she saw Adrien.

"Adrien! I didn't know you were coming over!" she said cheerfully, waving him in. "Marinette forgot to tell me, I suppose. Come on in."

"She didn't- she didn't know," Adrien managed, around visions of exactly how much destruction two angry supervillains could cause. "I- the Gorilla thought I should come here, because we got home and Father and Nathalie were fighting and yelling and-"

Mrs. Cheng's expression turned sympathetic in a heartbeat. "Oh, sweetie. Of course you can come here, you're always welcome. Go on up, Marinette is in her room. And text your driver that you'll be having dinner here," she added. "We make plenty, and it'll give the adults some time to cool off. I'm sure that it'll all be fine. Sometimes people get upset, it happens."

"Right," Adrien mumbled. Sure, people got upset- he _knew_ that- but there were superpowers now and Nathalie's heartlessness to take into account. "Thank you, Mrs. Cheng. I'll text him."

"Of course. Now go right on up- you know the way. I have to get back to work, but Tom and I will be up soon enough." Mrs. Cheng ushered him towards the stairs, and Adrien thanked her again before heading up, still trying to repress the urge to transform and run right back to his house.

He should be there. Maybe his father was a supervillain, but he was still _family_. Besides, what if they got into some huge superpowered fight and ended up making the cavern collapse? It would be _devastating_, especially now when they were so close to waking his mom up.

"Kid, I can hear you worrying from here," Plagg said from inside of his pocket. "Text Master Fu and have him send one of the other kwamis over to the house. If any big magic fight breaks out, they'll be able to alert me or Wayzz and I'll tell you. Then you can enjoy the time with your girlfriend without spending the whole evening worrying."

"Oh! Yeah, I'll do that." Adrien nearly fumbled his phone when he pulled it out, but he caught it just in time. "And I'll text the Gorilla, too, like Marinette's mom said."

Once the messages were sent, Adrien continued up the stairs. He let himself into their kitchen, then headed up the stairs to Marinette's room. He knocked, then waited.

"Coming!" Marinette called, followed by the sound of quick footsteps (and a stumble and quiet curse that made Adrien grin despite himself) before the trapdoor swung open. "Adrien?"

"My father and Nathalie are fighting, so the Gorilla decided to drop me off here," Adrien explained. "And your mom invited me to stay for dinner."

Adrien was taken off guard by how suddenly Marinette's expression turned serious. "They're fighting?"

"They were yelling a lot. The Gorilla pulled me out before I could make anything out, though." Adrien followed Marinette the rest of the way into her room. "But they _never_ yell."

"It's good that you're out of there, then," Marinette said, reaching over to squeeze his hand. "You're safer over here."

Adrien nodded, though he was a tad confused by her wording. It wasn't that she was _wrong_\- he definitely _was_ safer at Marinette's house- but she had no reason to know that. "Yeah. I just- I wish I was there just to know what was going on, you know? I hate _not_ knowing." Which was true. He was _always_ kept in the dark about _everything_. He hadn't known about his mom's secret life as a superhero, hadn't been told _anything_ when she vanished, and had his schedule switched around with only an hour's notice too many times to count. It was _exhausting_.

"Maybe you'll find out eventually?" Marinette suggested weakly, though she didn't look like she believed it, either. Oddly enough, Adrien appreciated that. It was better than adults' fake-cheerfulness and platitudes that _everything will be okay, don't worry about it._

"Maybe." Adrien glanced around, hoping to find something else to talk about. Plagg was right, he needed to distract himself. "I interrupted you in the middle of your homework, didn't I?"

"It's some prep work for our project," Marinette corrected, glancing up from her phone and sending off the text she had been typing before pocketing it. "I thought that I might find some resources for us to look through together, but if you're here we might as well just look at them properly now. It'll take your mind off of things, maybe?"

"Sure!"

The next hour flew by as Adrien and Marinette worked on their project together. The Gorilla sent a text halfway through, letting Adrien know that the fight had been resolved and to let him know when the dinner was over so that he could be picked up.

Adrien breathed out a sigh of relief at that. Maybe he hadn't needed to be worried at all. Marinette's mom had been right.

And hopefully it wouldn't happen again.

* * *

When Adrien headed off to school the next morning, all was quiet in the Agreste household. It was a bit eerie, honestly, and Adrien couldn't _wait_ to get to school, where there was actually some life. The Gorilla didn't question his extra-early departure, though he _did_ drop Adrien off at the Dupain-Cheng bakery instead of at the school.

Clearly Adrien's father wasn't the only one who shipped Adrien and Marinette together. Still, it was a nice gesture, and Adrien popped into the bakery to say hi to Marinette's mom and thank her for dinner while his bodyguard drove away. Mrs. Cheng had waved away his concerns and sent him upstairs with a croissant to wait for Marinette.

Marinette, who definitely wasn't expecting him as she tried to inhale a piece of toast and wrestle her bedhead into her trademark pigtails at the same time. She froze as Adrien came in, her eyes wide as her hairbrush got snagged on one particularly nasty snarl.

"Your mom said that I could come up," Adrien told her, snagging the toast before it could break off and fall to the ground. He put it back on Marinette's plate. "I just wanted to get out of the house early today and the Gorilla decided that I must want to stop by here first. My father apparently told him that I'm dating you," he added. "That's why he came here yesterday."

Marinette had turned pink as she finished chewing her bite of bread and swallowed it. "Oh."

"Anyway, I didn't mean to just burst in on you," Adrien added. "I can wait somewhere else, if you want me to."

"No, I- I was just taken off guard." Marinette finally worked the brush out of her hair and gave it a glare before continuing to brush her hair out. "And I was hurrying so that I could get over to school and meet up with you, but if you're here already then I guess I don't need to rush as much."

"Yeah, and we finished our homework before I left last night, so we don't need to go over it this morning." It was a good feeling, really. Or it _would_ be, if Adrien weren't so tired. He tried and failed to keep back a yawn. "I had a ton of trouble falling asleep, though, because I was worrying about everything. And I couldn't stay asleep, either."

"Because you were worried about the fight?"

"Yeah. I just- after being kept out of the loop before when important stuff happened before, I don't like it now." Adrien hopped up onto one of the stools and perched there. "I- I don't know if I mentioned it before, but- they didn't let me know right away when my mom vanished. It was almost a _week_ before they told me. Or at least that's what I assume, if I think of when I last saw her."

He wasn't exactly _expecting_ Marinette to immediately set her brush aside to wrap her arms around his middle in a warm hug, but he wasn't surprised, either. Adrien loosely looped his own arms around her waist, hugging her back and relaxing into the hug. Her cheek pressed into his shoulder and he let his head rest on top of hers.

This was comfortable. Adrien was so, _so_ lucky to have Marinette.

After a minute, Marinette pulled back, though her arms were still around him. "Adrien?"

"Yeah?"

"Do you want to come over here during lunch break and take a nap?"

Adrien thought about it. It sounded really, _really_ tempting, but... "Weren't we going to work on the holiday party more over lunch?"

Marinette shrugged. "We have a good base. It can wait. Besides," she added, a small smile appearing on her face, "you look too tired to think of any contributions. I can pick Alya's brain between classes, since she's meant to be helping me anyway."

Adrien grinned. "That sounds good, then. I could use a nap." If he could fall asleep, that was. He hadn't seen his father that morning, and that was a bit concerning. There was no way for him to know if the fight had turned physical, or if it had strictly been verbal. "I just have to get through several class periods first."

"Or you can lay down on the couch for a bit and I'll wake you up when it's time to go to school," Marinette offered. "We're going to be _crazy_ early if we go now."

That... sounded pretty good, honestly. Adrien nodded, and Marinette took a step back, fully releasing him from the hug. He briefly mourned the contact, but the Dupain-Cheng couch (and the blanket draped over the back of it, and the decorative pillows on it) were calling to him. He settled down, not expecting that he would actually fall asleep. After all, it had taken a couple hours for him to drop off the night before-

-and saying that Adrien was surprised to find himself being gently shaken awake some indeterminate amount of time later was an understatement. The last thing that he could remember was pulling the blanket down over himself.

"Nice nap?" Marinette asked, amusement warring with the concern in her voice. "Did you sleep at _all_ last night?"

"That's debatable, really," Adrien admitted, taking his bag from Marinette when she held it out for him. "It took a couple hours to fall asleep- and I might have gone to bed later than planned." He and Ladybug had pushed their visit to his mom just over an hour later than their usual time, and then she had wanted to stay a bit longer to give Mrs. Agreste a bit more of her potion, so they were _way_ later than usual getting back home. Then Adrien had lurked outside his bedroom doorway for a bit, listening and watching to see if he could figure out what the yelling had been about. He hadn't gotten any clues, though, and so he had eventually gone to bed. Then he hadn't slept well, followed up by waking up early.

So... yeah, the answer to Marinette's question was probably _no_.

"You are _definitely_ taking a nap at lunch," Marinette decided. "And then after school, too. Seriously, don't worry about the homework, Adrien. You have to take care of yourself."

"I'll argue with you about that _after_ lunch, once I've had another nice nap." Adrien shot a sleepy grin towards Marinette. "I should last that long, at least."

"You look like you're about to fall over, model boy."

"Do I really? Fantastic! I've been trying to get the look down to model a new line of sleepwear."

Marinette's laugh was clear and free. "You are such a _dweeb_."

* * *

Thankfully classes weren't too bad. There was a lot of review as the teachers prepared them for the rapidly approaching end-of-term exams before winter break, and a number of presentations from projects that they had started earlier in the semester. Adrien wished that he was a little more awake to take full advantage of the review, of course, but he was super, _super_ relieved that there wasn't any new stuff for him to try to take in.

"Almost time for break!" Nino cheered as they were let out of their last class of the morning. "One last full week of actual classes after this week ends, then a week of goofing off and getting ready for the holidays. It's gonna be _great_."

"We still have exams in that last week, though," Adrien pointed out, muffling a yawn. "And projects, and presentations."

"Yeah." Nino made a face. "I can't believe Mendeleev piled on another project before break! It's ridiculous. _And_ for presentations to be the last two days of the term! Alya and I are trying to decide if we want to go the first day, just to get it over with and be able to kick back and relax before break, or if we want one more day to work on it."

Adrien couldn't help but smile. "You say that as though it's not super-likely that Madam Mendeleev will assign which groups go on which day. After all, we got to pick our partners and we got to pick our topic, too. She's got to have control over _something_."

"Ugh, you're right." Nino made a face. "Not that Alya and I really got that much choice. Or, rather, it was kind of a panic pick. Like, once we got to the front of the group we just had to grab _something_ out of whatever was left."

"Marinette and I figured out our top three picks for topics between classes that morning," Adrien told his friend, smiling at Marinette as she and Alya headed past them towards the locker rooms. "So we could sign up right away when we got to class. Then we got our top pick right away."

Nino shook his head. "You two are _crazy_ prepared. The rest of us just tried to figure out what we want to do while we were standing at the sign-up sheet. Well, except for Max and Kim."

Adrien just shrugged. There was nothing wrong with being prepared. He and Marinette had gotten their top choice, hadn't they? They hadn't had to debate which topic they most wanted to cover while standing there with pen in hand.

"Well, speaking of the holidays and getting to relax- Max and Kim and I were talking about getting together Saturday evening to play video games for a couple hours after dinner at Kim's house, and they asked me to invite you, too." Nino grinned at Adrien. "It might run a little late, but hey, it's almost the holidays and we need to relax before exams. So, do you think..?"

Adrien froze. _Saturday evening_. That would be one of the last, if not _the_ last night that he and Ladybug would be going down to the cavern. There was no way that he could miss that. Absolutely _no_ way. Which meant that he needed an excuse. Thankfully, he had one all set up and his sleep-deprived brain didn't have to come up with anything new. "I- uh- I can't. I'm going to be going out on a date with Marinette that night-"

"_Dude!_" Nino exclaimed, and Adrien startled. Somewhere, in the back of his exhausted brain, he felt an inkling that he _might_ have said something wrong. "You've been holding out on me! You're going on a date with Marinette? When did you get _that_ set up? When were you two planning on telling the rest of us? This is literally the first that I've heard about _any_ of this, so clearly Marinette hasn't told Alya, either."

...yeah, he had _definitely_ messed up.

"We've been, uh, trying out the dating thing, I guess?" Adrien tried, hoping that Nino would drop it. But no, his friend was looking super, _super_ interested. Adrien was pretty sure that _he_ had never looked so invested in his best friend's love life.

…well, okay, with the _possible_ exception of when Nino had been mooning over Marinette and had tried to ask her out on a date, but that was less of a being super-invested and more of a trying to cover for Nino's freezing up.

"Without telling _anybody_, though?" Nino looked thoroughly baffled. "I mean, Alya and I didn't make a big deal out of it or anything when _we_ started dating, but we _did_ still tell people."

"Yeah, because you confessed your love for Alya to Marinette on what was _meant_ to be a date between the two of you," Adrien said with a laugh. "What was that, even?"

"That was an awkward mess," Nino told him. "But you're avoiding the question, which is why you and Marinette didn't tell anyone that you were dating."

Adrien spotted Marinette closing her locker, clearly done grabbing whatever it was that she needed for the lunch break. "And I'm going to keep avoiding the question, because Mari and I have a lunch to get to and then I have a date with her couch, because I did _not_ get enough sleep last night. Bye!"

With that, Adrien snagged Marinette's arm and did an abrupt about-face, practically _sprinting _out of the locker room. He heard Marinette squeak in surprise, but she caught up to him in no time, a puzzled look on his face.

"ADRIEN AGRESTE, GET BACK HERE RIGHT NOW!" Nino yelled from the locker room, and Adrien winced and moved faster. "_Adrien_!"

"Should I even ask what he's going on about?" Marinette asked breathlessly as they crossed the courtyard and dashed towards the door. "What did you _do?_"

"Don't get mad at me," Adrien begged. He cringed. "I, uh- well, you know how we agreed that we could use the dating excuse to get out of stuff in the evening?"

"Yeah?" Marinette said, a small frown of confusion on her pretty face. "Why-" Her expression dropped. "Oh. Oh _no_. Adrien, tell me you didn't tell Nino that we were going on a date."

Adrien's wince was all the answer she needed. Marinette groaned.

"I'm _sorry_, I wasn't thinking," Adrien told her as they reached the crosswalk and paused to let the crosswalk lights change. "I should have just told Nino that I would check with my father and then say no later, but my brain kind of forgot that and went 'need excuse. Excuse is meant to be dating. Tell Nino that' instead."

"I understand, you're tired," Marinette said, but there was a bit of stress on her face. Clearly she knew that their friends would have questions for them once they got back to school. "We'll just have to come up with a story over lunch. I was thinking that we could eat first, since Mama will have something ready for us, and we can come up with something while we do that. Then you can sleep." She buried her face in her hands. "Oh, Alya is going to _kill_ me."

Adrien glanced behind them and spotted Alya and Nino leaving the school, glancing back and forth as they searched for him and Marinette. As soon as the lights changed, he lead the charge across the crosswalk and into the bakery. "Why would Alya kill you? I mean, maybe I sort of implied that there had maybe been more than one date-"

Marinette groaned louder as she steered Adrien past the counter towards the door to the stairwell. "_Adrien!_"

"I know, I know, I'm sorry, I wasn't _thinking_." He winced. "But maybe we can say that we wanted to keep it quiet because of my fans and my father? I mean, the last time when my fans thought that you were my girlfriend, they _absolutely_ made a pain of themselves with trying to figure out who you were. And maybe we wanted to make sure that we worked as a couple before telling people so that things wouldn't get awkward?"

"I- maybe that would work." Marinette didn't look entirely convinced. "But it's going to be hard to convince Alya. And, uh." She winced again. "And the other girls. Alya is _definitely_ going to tell Rose, Juleka, Mylène, and Alix."

"...okay, yeah, I _definitely_ should have just gone with the 'I'll check with my father' excuse."

Marinette nodded, that small frown still on her face.

They got upstairs to find sandwiches for both of them on the counter, warm and ready to eat. Adrien _tried_ not to inhale his, he really did, but he kind of wanted to get to his second nap of the day. As they ate, Marinette's phone kept lighting up with messages.

Adrien's phone hadn't even left his bag, but he was sure that it would be in a similar condition. After all, all of their friends knew both him and Marinette, and two classmates getting together was Big News in collège. Secret relationships would probably be classified as Bigger News.

...at least this hadn't happened at the _exact_ same time as when he had found out about his father being Hawkmoth. That had been _quite_ enough to deal with on its own, without a social blunder to deal with on top of it.

* * *

Adrien woke up at the end of the lunch hour to Marinette gently shaking his shoulder again. He groaned, rolling off of the couch and onto his feet. He felt a _lot_ more awake now, properly refreshed and ready to go for the rest of the day.

"Alya's promising to interrogate me when we get back to school," Marinette told him as she handed over a cookie for him to eat. "Apparently she's compiled a list of questions for me to answer. And you were right, you _did_ imply that there had been several dates before. Which means that Alya is going to be on the warpath."

"I'll stay with you and help you field Alya's questions like the gallant, abet fake, boyfriend that I am," Adrien promised, hauling himself to his feet. "As long as we don't, like, accidently talk over each other with different information, it should be fine. We just tell her that we wanted to be secure in our relationship before we subjected it to any public scrutiny."

"That might actually work, since you're, well, _you_," Marinette admitted. "Though I know perfectly well that Alya will insist that we should have told _her_, at least, because she could keep it a secret."

Adrien laughed. "Was that sarcasm I just heard there? Marinette!"

"Hey, _I_ wasn't the one who insisted for _months_ that it would be a good idea to reveal Ladybug and Chat Noir's identities to the whole of Paris on the Ladyblog!"

"Fair enough." Adrien slung his bag onto his shoulder and offered Marinette his arm. "Shall we get back to school and face the beast?"

She took it. "We might as well get it over with, I guess."

They never made it there. Just as they left the bakery the ground shook with a blast, and both Adrien and Marinette stumbled, clutching each other to try to steady themselves. They glanced around, and it was Marinette who spotted a tongue of fire shoot into the sky, accompanied by another earth-shaking explosion.

"Akuma," she muttered, looking concerned and almost a bit puzzled. "And a really, _really_ strong one, too, by the looks of it. We should get inside."

"Agreed," Adrien said, steadying them against the outside of the bakery. His mind was whirring. He would have to get away from Marinette, fight the akuma, and get back fast enough that she wouldn't notice. "And while we're stuck inside, I might, uh, use the bathroom."

"Great minds think alike," Marinette said with a giggle. "I was just thinking the same thing. I can use the employee one in the bakery, if you want to go back upstairs. Just be careful on the stairs, because-" she yelped as the ground shook again- "the ground keeps shaking and it probably isn't safe."

Adrien nodded, letting Marinette in before him. "Of course! And same for you, too, once you're done."

"I might just stay down here in the bakery," Marinette told him. "Just to be safe."

"Sounds good!"

Adrien dashed up the stairs, clinging to the railing as he went. As soon as he had gotten up a level, he transformed and shot out of a stairwell window, headed for all of the noise and light. Even several blocks out, he could see utterly destroyed buildings, fire licking through some of them. The akuma roared, sending the few people left in the street fleeing for their lives.

Chat Noir stared, trying to figure out what was going on. This wasn't another Volpina illusion, he knew that much. She couldn't make the ground shake like this. But this seemed like a _far_ more destructive akuma than any of the ones that his father had made since he had given in to Ladybug and Chat Noir.

Something had happened during the fight the night before. There was no other explanation.

Ladybug landed next to him, a frown already on her face. "This looks like a hard one."

"It's going to be really, really dangerous," Chat Noir agreed. "We're going to need _all_ of our concentration for this one."

Ladybug nodded. "I wouldn't be surprised if Mayura caught on to the fact that the battles haven't been as hard. Hopefully not all of the battles will be like this."

"Should we go get a couple extras right away, then?" Chat Noir asked, glancing back over his shoulder towards the school. "We could either have them jump in right away or just have them transformed and waiting in the wings, in case we don't actually need them right away."

"_Definitely_." Ladybug tapped her yo-yo to her lips as she surveyed the scene below once more. "Yeah, I don't want to go into this without backup. I might even contact Master Fu. Carapace might be helpful in this fight."

"With all of the building-smashing going on? Carapace would _definitely_ be helpful," Chat Noir agreed. He shifted his stance, readying his baton. "Let's go get the others and get back ASAP, before this guy gets too far."

Ladybug nodded and turned halfway, getting ready to go. Before she could, though, another figure jumped through the sky, landing on one of the half-crushed buildings. Fire flickered around her feet, but she didn't seem bothered at all. Straightening, the purple-clad woman surveyed her surroundings, a cruel smile on her face.

"I am the Purple Lady!" she announced suddenly, voice carrying easily over the roars of the akuma and the crackling flames. "The new holder of the Butterfly Miraculous. Tremble, Paris, for your day of reckoning has come!"

* * *

_a/n: whoops looks like Master Fu's slow and cautious approach backfired a little bit. Just a little._

_...also good job, Adrien. That fake dating thing just got a liiiiiittle more complicated._

_As always, reviews make my day! :)_


	14. Panic

"Oh no, _Nathalie_," Chat Noir breathed, flattening himself to the rooftop so he would be less visible. His eyes were huge. "Oh _no_."

"That's definitely her," Ladybug agreed. She could feel herself trembling against the rooftop. This was exactly what they _hadn't _wanted to happen- Nathalie transforming and coming out to fight them herself. It looked like she had taken charge of the Butterfly Miraculous, too, which would explain the super-violent akuma.

That must have been what the fight between her and Mr. Agreste had been about the night before. She had gotten fed up with his weak akumas and decided to take charge herself. Their one saving grace was that it looked like she had _just_ transformed with the Butterfly Miraculous, and not with both the Butterfly and the Peacock at the same time. That meant that they wouldn't have to worry about any Peacock-generated monsters.

Well. Unless she had forced Mr. Agreste to transform with the Peacock, in which case she would just have to pull out the Tiger Miraculous and take a little tussle with it. Hopefully Mr. Agreste would be smart enough to choose Body if he had to transform, because they did _not_ need to deal with _two_ heartless people in Paris, particularly when one of them was currently hiding the fact that the superheroes knew _everything_.

"Okay, we gotta be _super_ careful now," Ladybug murmured. "We'll head down to street level and then keep our jumps low. You can find Chloe, right?"

Chat Noir nodded. "She'll have been back at school already. I can just grab her in front of her classmates." He grinned. "I don't think any of them will be jealous right now."

"No, I don't imagine they would be."

Getting off of the rooftop without attracting the Purple Lady's attention was hard. Then Ladybug and Chat Noir sprinted through empty streets, headed for the collège. Chat Noir jumped in, while Ladybug headed for the bus stop, where she had seen a flash of Master Fu's distinctive red winter coat.

"Master Fu," Ladybug said breathlessly as she skidded to a stop. "Mayura has taken Hawkmoth's Miraculous and she's using it now instead of her own."

"Yes, I saw the news feed," Master Fu told her. He grabbed her hand and dropped his bracelet into it. "It will be a difficult fight. I need to take shelter now, but we will have to discuss how this will change our plan later."

Ladybug nodded in thanks, then spun around to haul herself into the school. It was more than likely that Nino and Alya knew that she would be coming for them, and so they would try to stay away from the rest of the students if possible. They also would have been back at school for sure, because they would want to be there to interrogate her and Adrien as soon as they got back.

Honestly, she would _much_ prefer an interrogation over this.

As soon as she landed in the courtyard, Ladybug was moving. Teachers were ushering students into the boiler room, and Ladybug noted that as the last place she would look and instead dashed for the locker rooms. They were empty, and so were the bathrooms.

...she really, _really_ hoped that Nino and Alya had managed to slip away from the rest of the students. It was bad enough that they knew each other's identities. There was no _way_ that Ladybug was going to give them away in front of all of the other students.

The classrooms were all empty, and Ladybug couldn't help but whisper a prayer under her breath as she sprinted for the library. Chat Noir had no doubt gotten to Chloe by now, and the two of them would be coming out to the courtyard any minute now. She burst through the doors, fighting the reflexive urge to cringe at the clatter in the usually-quiet library, and cast a frantic look around.

"Psst! Ladybug!"

"Oh thank _goodness_," Ladybug said as soon as she spotted Nino and Alya peering out from under a table. A quick glance around told her that they were alone, and so she made a beeline for them. "Have you seen the news? This is the worst akuma we've had in a while, and Mayura took Hawkmoth's Miraculous and has come out."

"Wait, how do you know that she's Mayura?" Nino asked as he crawled out from under the table and straightened up, Alya right on his tail. "We haven't even seen Mayura before, have we?"

"Just trust us on this one," Ladybug told him, handing over both Miraculous. "We can't explain _how_ we know right now, but we do. But I _will_ just give you a heads-up that the Peacock Miraculous is cursed and since she's been using it regardless, she's pretty much lost her humanity. I think Chat Noir and I will go up against her and the rest of you will go for the akuma."

Nino winced. "Great! Fire and angry booming, my favorite."

"Trust me, it _has_ to be better than Mayura," Ladybug told them. "And Chat Noir and I will probably end up combining two Miraculous each for extra power ourselves. Now transform, quickly!"

Alya and Nino nodded in unison and in a flash, Rena Rouge and Carapace replaced them. Ladybug gave a satisfied nod and spun around, leading the dash out of the school.

"Man, I hope this doesn't become, like, a thing," she heard Carapace commenting from behind her. "The teachers would _totally_ be on our backs about missing class all the time. I mean, it's fine for Chloe because the whole city knows who she is, but for us?"

Ladybug smothered a snort. Oh, if only Carapace knew. She was _really_ looking forward to the end of all this and no longer having to miss class all the time.

Chat Noir and Queen Bee met them on the roof of the school. Under her mask, Queen Bee was super pale, and it only took a second for Ladybug to figure out _why_.

The akuma had gotten really, really close to City Hall.

"Okay, I think it would be best if you three went for the akuma," Ladybug said, trying to map out the battle as best she could. "The akuma didn't seem to have impermeable skin or anything, so Ch- Queen Bee, maybe stay out of sight and try for a quick attack from behind, like we did with the last Scarlet Moth attack?"

Queen Bee grinned. "Got it, boss."

"Be sure to pay attention to the akuma while you're fighting it," Ladybug added. "If it's a case like Stoneheart, where it grows every time it gets hit, then try a different approach until you can get it Stung. And be on the lookout for any possibilities for the possessed item."

"And we get to fight the heartless butterfly boss," Chat Noir said. He pumped his fist in mock excitement. "Yippee!"

* * *

Dragon Bug really couldn't say if the battle was going well or not.

On the positive side, no one had lost a Miraculous yet. None of the members of their team had been injured. The akuma had shifted focus from destroying buildings to fending off the three second-string superheroes.

On the other side, well...

The fight had been going on for _hours_. Queen Bee's sneak attack had failed and she had had to retreat and recharge. The Purple Lady was proving to be a formidable opponent, fighting both with her sword and without, lashing out at them and forcing them to stay back. They didn't seem to be winning yet.

And that was _with_ the dual transformations.

There was no way to retreat and regroup, not with the Purple Lady pressing her every advantage and not letting them gain a step. Even if Dragon Bug came up with another plan, there would be no way for her to communicate it to the others without the Purple Lady overhearing.

Dragon Bug gritted her teeth as she dodged another blow, doing her best to work her way around to the Purple Lady's back. Paris was on fire, and she couldn't do _anything_ about it.

If they were going to be facing off with the Purple Lady with every akuma attack, they needed someone who could match her in fighting prowess. Someone who could swordfight and also had a decent amount of training in martial arts. She had an idea for that, but there was no way to implement it now, even if she knew where the person in question was. Which she didn't.

"We could _really_ use a bit of luck, Bug," Chat Noir gritted out as he parried another blow and immediately threw himself into dodging a kick. "I can hold her for ten seconds, at least. _Go_."

Dragon Bug nodded, throwing herself into a backflip to give herself some room. "_Lucky Charm!_"

A bomb dropped into her hand. Or maybe it was technically a grenade, but Ladybug hadn't exactly read up on her different types of explosives and she wasn't about to start now.

_Well_. So much for Tikki being a pacifist. Dragon Bug glanced up, and it only took her a second to figure out their plan. They needed some breathing room to defeat one problem at a time, and this would give her exactly that.

Chat Noir yelped as the Purple Lady threw him aside, clear to the opposite side of the rooftop. "Ten seconds up, my Lady!"

"Good, because that's all I need!" Dragon Bug pulled the pin and flung the grenade between herself and the Purple Lady before sprinting in the opposite direction, grabbing Chat Noir as she went. "_Go!_"

The grenade exploded, throwing the Purple Lady sky-high and shaking the rooftops. Ladybug winced as she pocketed the pin. Hopefully the occupants of the house weren't home. If they were….

Thank goodness for the Cure, that was all she could say.

"Carapace, we need your shield!" Dragon Bug yelled as she and Chat Noir made a beeline for the akuma fight still shaking the street. "As soon as we're close enough!"

Chat Noir grinned. "Aha! Keep the Purple Lady away from the fight and use all five of us to take down the akuma? Smart!"

"Yeah, I don't think we'll be able to take her down today. She'll probably clear off as soon as her akuma is defeated." Dragon Bug leapfrogged over Carapace, nodding to him. He activated his force field, extending it over the fight seconds before the Purple Lady reappeared on the rooftop. "All right, you guys! Let's do this!"

"What do you think we've been doing for the last several hours, exactly?" Queen Bee demanded as she dodged another blast of fire. "Because we've _been_ fighting!"

Chat Noir grinned. It seemed less stressed around the edges now that it was just an akuma that they were facing. "Somebody is feeling a bit prickly today!"

"I'm missing my manicure, of _course_ I'm annoyed about it!"

Dragon Bug ignored them, keeping her focus wholly on the akuma. It was blasting fire from its mouth, and each of its giant hand were swollen, almost as though there was something on them. Boxing gloves, perhaps? That would fit with the outfit.

"I can't figure out what the item is, Dragon Bug," Rena Rouge reported, landing next to her. "We've been looking and looking, but- watch out!"

Both superheroes flipped out of the way as a meaty hand came down at them, smashing the bit of road that they had been standing on to smithereens. As she dodged, Dragon Bug caught sight of the nearly invisible seam at the base of the hand, where it returned to normal proportions.

_Gotcha._

"Chat Noir, we're going to need a Cataclysm from you!" Dragon Bug called, watching as the akuma swung again. She hadn't caught its name and at this point, she didn't care. It never swung out more than one hand at once and because both of them were identical, she needed them together for Chat Noir to destroy both at once. "As soon as I say the word!"

"Right!"

"Rena, Queen Bee, I need you over here for a second," Dragon Bug continued. rolling out of the way of a burst of fire. "I have a plan!"

"Oh, thank _god_!"

Dragon Bug grinned at Queen Bee's relieved exclamation. "Maybe wait until you hear the plan before you start getting _too_ excited. You're not necessarily going to like it."

"If it works, I like it."

"I need you two to run around near each other, but not _with_ each other," Dragon Bug explained hastily, keeping one eye on Chat Noir and the akuma. "I want the akuma to reach out with both hands at once so that I can snag them, and he's only done one at a time normally. He's getting impatient, though, so hopefully he'll try to grab one of you in each hand."

Queen Bee frowned. "You're right, I don't like this plan. I'll do it!" she added hastily. "I don't like being bait, but I'll do it."

"And be annoying as possible!" Dragon Bug called after them as they ran off. "So that he has his attention on you!"

"She's got that bit in the bag!" Rena Rouge called over her shoulder, and Queen Bee scowled.

"_Hey!_"

Dragon Bug sighed as she dropped back, circling around to keep out of the akuma's sight while still staying in a good position. She _really_ wished that Chloe hadn't revealed her identity to _the entire city_, because Rena Rouge would no doubt be less tempted to make fun of Chloe if Queen Bee were simply another teammate, abet a prickly one. At least she was _willing_ to work with Chloe.

In front of her, the akuma snarled as the two superheroes bounded back and forth. Queen Bee was calling out taunts, making faces as she dashed around. One hand lashed out at a time, missing every time. A purple mask appeared over the akuma's face, and it nodded before reaching out faster, the slow one, two turning into a one-two-one-two, and then even faster, onetwoonetwoonetwo_one_-

_There_.

Dragon Bug lashed out, ignoring her third beep. Her yo-yo sailed through the air, wrapping around the akuma's wrists as they were passing each other. She _yanked_, planting her feet, and the akuma's hands came together. "Chat Noir! Now!"

"_Cataclysm!_"

Dragon Bug's grin turned triumphant as the boxing gloves dissolved and the cursed butterfly fluttered free. Releasing the former akuma, she cast her yo-yo out again and snagged the butterfly, purifying it and setting it free again with a relieved breath. As her earrings beeped for a fourth time, she tossed the grenade ring into the air, setting everything right again.

As expected, the Purple Lady had fled. That was probably for the best, honestly. All five of them were exhausted.

"All right, let's go!" Dragon Bug called. Her earrings beeped one more time, and then the Ladybug part of her transformation gave. She let it go instead of calling up the spell, since Longg was still going strong and Tikki needed a break. She snagged Tikki and tucked her into her hair before Chloe could get a good look at her. "And hope against hope that no one's noticed us missing."

"I think that might be hoping for a little too much, my Lady," Chat Noir said wryly. Then he grinned. "Or should I say- my Dragon Lady?"

She could only sigh.

Five minutes later, all of the temporary Miraculous were back in the superheroes' hands, and they were headed for Master Fu's house. Tikki had recharged, and so Ladybug had re-transformed and released Longg, much more comfortable in her normal transformation and with her yo-yo at her side.

The sword was nice, sure, but she _much_ preferred her yo-yo.

"I'm a bit worried about Mr. Agreste," Chat Noir said as the two of them landed across the street from Master Fu's apartment. "I mean, he wouldn't just give in and hand over the Butterfly, not when we're so close to succeeding. What if he got hurt?"

Ladybug frowned. "Maybe we should take a detour over there. We can just look in through the windows. If we don't see him, we'll investigate more. But we _aren't_ going into the mansion without backup. And we'll have to keep an eye on our backs, in case Purple Lady is still around."

Chat Noir nodded. "And if we _don't_ see him?"

Ladybug frowned. If they _didn't_ see Mr. Agreste? Part of her wanted to say _duh, we'll go in and investigate_. But they _couldn't_. It would be dangerous. Besides, if there had been a fight and Mr. Agreste had been seriously injured, perhaps even critically (or worse), it would have happened _ages_ ago, either the night before or several hours previously. There might be nothing that they could do. But there _was_ someone who might be able to check, who wouldn't appear out of place. "We could approach the family's driver and ask him to check, though we would have to be careful with the wording."

"Right, right."

It took no time at all to get to the Agreste mansion and find a spot to hunker down and spy. Ladybug let Chat Noir peer in while she stood guard, eyes flashing back and forth over the skyline to make sure that they were safe. It barely took any time at all before Chat Noir let out a relieved breath.

"He's there. He's there, he's fine. He's pacing back and forth and he looks stressed, but he doesn't look- he doesn't look _injured_ or anything."

"Hopefully it'll stay that way," Ladybug said. She glanced towards the mansion, then back out at the rest of the city. "I'd like to know how much _she_ knows about the Miraculous. If she's still going to be using the Peacock. What we can expect in the fights until we get Mrs. Agreste awake and alive and can do the final battle."

"So we need to find a safe way to get in contact with him again," Chat Noir summed up. "Which will be hard without the kwami powers."

"Maybe Master Fu will have some suggestions," Ladybug offered. "Speaking of which- we should get over there. He's going to want an update. And we want to do that and get it all figured out as soon as possible." Her parents were going to be wondering where she was. _Adrien_ was going to wonder where she had went. Her phone was probably drowning in messages. "C'mon, kitty."

Chat Noir nodded, sending one last look at the mansion before they headed out across the city. It didn't take long to slip into Master Fu's apartment- only after checking to make sure that they hadn't been seen or followed- and then they were being seated in the massage parlor by a worried-looking Master Fu.

"Mayura is a strong fighter," Master Fu told them, frowning deeply. "And she's going to make strong akumas. The move today was smart, focusing on the akuma so that she would have to either flee or face you on her own. But you won't necessarily be able to do that every time, because she'll catch on."

"Do you think she'll make an akuma every day?" Chat Noir asked anxiously. "I can't manage _hours-long_ akuma attacks every day. I've got school, I've got activities- people will notice that I'm gone!"

Master Fu shook his head. "I don't know. It's impossible to tell. We have to hope that she will only go for the strongest potential akumas, which don't come up every day. And we can try to throw a wrench in her plans- though _how_, I'm not sure. It would be dangerous to enrage her. But based on the theories and conjecture of an old man..." He sighed, sitting back. "She is analytical. Unlike Hawkmoth, she will not continue doing the same thing over and over in hopes of something changing. She will look at where she failed, and she will change it for next time. It might mean a day or two between attacks as she plans out her next opportunity. She will go for _quality_ of the attacks, not _quantity._"

"So it's likely that we'll have fewer attacks, but they'll be longer," Ladybug repeated. She made a face. _As if it weren't hard enough already to cover up her absences_. At least Master Fu didn't think that they would be frequent _and_ long. "_Ugh_. At least we know who she is."

"Yes, and we can make a plan to take her down." Master Fu looked from one superhero to the other. "It's not going to be easy, I'm sure you saw that today. We might need to expand the team. We'll need to talk to the current team about other ways that they can use their powers. And we will have to be at the very top of our game. Any slip-up now will _not_ be missed."

Ladybug and Chat Noir nodded.

"And I would not be surprised if the Mayor calls you in soon for a statement on the new supervillain," Master Fu added. "You will need to somehow emphasize that the new Butterfly is a bigger threat than before, without giving away too many details. We don't want her picking up on the fact that we know _exactly_ what was going on there. It would be dangerous for Mr. Agreste, and potentially Mrs. Agreste as well for her to suspect that he had given in and was in contact with the superheroes. She would know that her own identity was at stake, and lash out."

"We need to proceed with caution. And then, when the time is right, we strike."

* * *

_a/n: Next time: More fallout! Yippee! Even with amped-up akuma attacks looming over everyone's heads, Alya has a one-track mind. :D_

_As always, reviews make my day! :)_


	15. Picking up the Pieces

_a/n: Sorry about the late update! I was moving from my summer job to my fall job, which also meant switching houses and first my internet got shut off before I could move, and then I couldn't move as soon as I thought I would be able to (the previous occupants hadn't moved out yet) and that was all a mess, but everything is all sorted out now!_

* * *

Marinette probably should have expected that Alya would pounce on her and drag her away from Adrien as soon as the two of them set foot in the school the next morning. But she hadn't.

"I need to borrow your girlfriend for a minute, Agreste!" Alya called over her shoulder, ignoring the protests from both Adrien and Marinette. "I'll return her before classes start. Maybe."

"_Alya_," Marinette protested, glancing over her shoulder to see Adrien standing in place for a moment, clearly torn about what he was meant to be doing, before giving a decisive nod and hurrying after them. "Is this really necessary?"

"Since you and your oh-_so_-secret boyfriend decided to dash before we could ask you anything and then didn't bother to come back at _all_ yesterday afternoon, yes, this is _totally_ necessary." Alya tugged Marinette up the stairs and she followed, part resigned and part not wanting to risk falling down the stairs accidentally. Paris did _not_ need Ladybug out of commission right now. "Because I need to know the deets, first of all, and then I gotta know why you two didn't tell _anyone_."

Marinette cringed, glancing back at Adrien. He was trotting along behind them, far enough back that Alya wouldn't be able to see him but close enough to not lose them. Further back, Marinette caught sight of Nino dashing out from behind a pillar, looking a little panicked.

She smirked. It was _pretty_ obvious that Nino had been meant to intercept Adrien but had just been a little too late in getting there. He and Alya had no doubt meant to interrogate them separately and then compare their stories, but Nino hadn't _quite_ been in position. She caught Adrien's eye and jerked her chin towards Nino, hoping that he would catch on.

Adrien followed her gaze, spotting Nino right away before returning his gaze to her. The look on his face told her that he had picked up on the plan as well, and he wouldn't let himself get caught.

"First of all, I want to know how long this has been going on," Alya told Marinette as she pulled her into the library. "Talk, talk, talk."

"It's just been a couple weeks," Adrien said before Marinette could respond, slipping through the library door seconds before it closed. "Two dates, maybe?"

"_Maybe?_" Alya parroted, spinning on Adrien. Her eyes narrowed at Nino, who was sheepishly slipping through the library door. "You were supposed to keep him away, Nino!"

"I'm sorry! He's too fast."

Alya groaned. "He can't _possibly_ go that fast. But fine, whatever. What do you mean, _maybe?_"

"Just that we were hanging out and it's hard to tell exactly when they stopped being strictly hangouts between friends and when they started being actual dates," Marinette explained, stepping into their prepared story seamlessly. "So some people might have counted the hang-outs before as dates, but two dates ago was when we, well..."

"When we agreed to date," Adrien finished. "And when we were talking about needing to keep it quiet because of, well, my father and my fans and everything. And we didn't want to announce it right away because we weren't sure if we would work as more than friends and we didn't want it to be awkward if things didn't work out." He sent a shy glance Marinette's way, and she didn't have to fake the blush that raced onto her cheeks. "And I _really_ didn't want things to turn awkward."

"We wouldn't have made things awkward!" Alya proclaimed at once. "We would have been excited for you, sure, and maybe we would have tried planning a double date or two, but-"

Nino laughed. "I think that's exactly what they mean by people turning it awkward, babe. Once people announce that they're dating, it kind of seems like there's more pressure for it to actually _work_. Then if it's not working, people might stay together longer than they might otherwise, and then that could lead to a messy breakup and, well..." Nino shrugged. "No one wants that, do they? Especially when they're in the same friend group."

"_They're_ the ones who are meant to be explaining, Nino," Alya complained. "Not _you_. You're messing up my interrogation."

Nino winced. "Yeah, again, I think your interrogation is _exactly_ the kind of thing that would make things awkward."

...if it wouldn't have totally made Alya suspicious, Marinette would have hugged Nino. She had wondered if anyone would actually see their explanation as plausible, and he had clearly bought it, hook, line, and sinker.

Alya huffed, crossing her arms. She was in clear reporter mode, and now that she had a scoop, she clearly wanted to dig more. "I'm not making anything _awkward_. I just think that they could have told a couple people, at least, and it wouldn't have gotten weird. _We_ told people right away."

"But babe, there's, like..." Nino glanced over at Adrien and Marinette, then edged over to Alya and started whispering in her ear. Alya's expression went through stubbornness, then hesitance, then grudging acceptance.

If it weren't for the fact that she literally had _no extra time_, Marinette would have made Nino an extra gift for Christmas. He was literally making their argument for them- and pointing out that a solid _third_ of the class had been working together to try to get her and Adrien together and were _very_ vested in the relationship and getting it to work (or at least Marinette _thought_ that was what he was pointing out to Alya) only added to how easy it would be for the two of them to feel like they had to _really_ try to make it work. He also wasn't blurting that bit out loud, clearly aware that Marinette might not have told Adrien about all of the failed attempts that the others had made to set them up.

Marinette appreciated that a _lot_. Adrien finding out that she _actually_ had a crush on him would no doubt turn their fake relationship awkward in a heartbeat, and she could kiss any chance of it eventually developing into something real good-bye.

"Fine, fine, _fine_," Alya grumbled once Nino had finally withdrawn. "No double dates until you're comfortable, then. And no making a big deal about it. The entire class knows, though. I, uh. Wasn't exactly quiet when I found out about it."

Adrien groaned. "The _entire_ class? So much for trying to keep it secret."

"Yeah, well, if you hadn't _immediately_ decided to dash and get the attention of the entire school as you ran through the building, maybe that wouldn't have happened," Alya countered. Adrien winced.

"Maybe I was hoping that you would forget about what I said if we just, like, dropped the topic right away."

"Wishful thinking, dude," Nino told him. He glanced at his phone, then at the clock on the wall. "Alya, I know you wanted to do some more interrogation, but Lila said that she was going to bring in some coffee cake that the world-famous pastry maker that she knows made fresh for her this morning, and we're going to miss out on it if we don't get there early."

Alya perked up, then deflated when she looked at Adrien and Marinette. "You two have the _worst_ timing for telling us stuff, honestly. _Ugh_. I'm going now, but I'm going to have more questions for you guys later."

"To be fair, I didn't _intend_ to tell Nino anything," Adrien offered. "I was just tired and not thinking."

"But you managed to remember when you were having your date," Nino said, laughing. "Yeah, I think you two will be fine. D'you want to come with us for coffee cake? Lila is going to tell everyone how she met this pastry guy. Apparently he's taught her how to do some _really_ fancy desserts!"

"Pass," Marinette said immediately, resisting the urge to roll her eyes. "No one can make coffee cake like Papa can."

Adrien nodded. "Yeah. I've already had a pain au chocolat this morning. I don't need any more sweets."

"You _could_ just come and listen, you know," Alya told them. "Maybe she knows some tips that you can pass on to your parents!"

"Yeah, like that one about grating butter _into_ the croissant dough instead of folding it between the layers?" Marinette asked scathingly. She had overheard Lila giving out "baking tips" before, and was _not_ impressed. It was _obvious_ that Lila was just looking stuff up on the internet or flat-out making things up based on a _very_ incomplete knowledge of how things were done. "How is that one going for everyone?"

Nino looked puzzled. "I mean, it seems to have worked for her? She brought us the batch that she made."

Marinette was pretty certain that her eyes were going to roll out of her head and out of the library if she rolled them any more.

"Or bought," Adrien said with a sigh. "Probably bought."

"_Definitely_ bought."

Nino frowned. "She _said_ that she made them herself, you guys. There's no reason to doubt that."

"Except that it won't work, and I _know_ it won't work because I, oh, _I don't know_, grew up in a bakery," Marinette shot back. "Which makes croissants literally _every day_. And I've made _dozens _of croissants before, if not hundreds. But if you want to try it, go right ahead."

"Okay, enough already. I know what you're trying to do, and it's not working," Alya said, crossing her arms. "You're trying to distract us and take our minds away from your dating so that I can't think up more questions. But I've got my eye on you two, and I am _not_ going to get distracted and forget about it. Even if there _is_ coffee cake with my name on it downstairs right now."

With that, she spun on her heel and marched out of the library, Nino following behind her.

There was a silence.

"She doesn't fully believe us, does she?" Adrien asked after a moment. He exchanged a look with Marinette. "About the dating thing, I mean. We're going to actually have to do something else to convince her."

Marinette blinked at him. "What do you mean, something more? Like act close during class? Because I don't think that's going to satisfy them."

"No, I mean, like..." Adrien glanced around and then ducked his head close to hers. "Fake dating, but not _just_ in name only. We could go out and have lunch or dinner together at a restaurant once a week or something, starting with this week, when I told Nino that I would be busy. We would just have to wrap up before eight or so."

Marinette considered that. It would be a good idea to throw off their friends for sure- she wouldn't be surprised if she and Adrien got tailed on at least one of their "dates"- and it was always fun to hang out with Adrien. Besides, if they wrapped up before eight, like he was suggesting, then she would still have time to do her nightly visit to his mom. "Yeah, that sounds good."

"We can iron out all of the details later," Adrien promised, grabbing Marinette's hand and squeezing it. He paused, then added, "And maybe we should look close in class, too? I mean, not too suddenly since we _had_ been trying to keep it a secret, but since apparently the entire class has heard about it already..."

"Right." Marinette winced for a moment, trying not to imagine Chloe's reaction to hearing that Adrien was dating. "_That's_ going to be fun. We're going to get interrogated at the start of class, I just know it."

"Well, unless everyone comes in last minute because they were listening to Lila in the locker rooms and lost track of time," Adrien pointed out. "Which _has_ happened before."

Marinette frowned at the thought. Even though the whole Lila situation was far, _far_ down on her list of things to worry about at the moment, it was still frustrating to see her friends being led around by the nose over and over again. "Yeah. But then they'll just try to bug us between classes, and if we end up late because of that then _we'll_ be the ones in trouble."

"We'll just have to walk and talk, then. Speaking of which, d'you want to head over to homeroom now? We can look over our homework there, and we won't be in danger of losing track of time."

"Sounds good to me, Fake Boyfriend. Lead the way."

* * *

Thankfully, the day passed without incident- well, without _akuma-_related incidents, at least- and Ladybug met up with her partner in the park right on time, shouldering the increasingly light bag of potions.

"Master Fu said that he's starting the potion to go with the waking-up spell," Chat Noir told her as they bounded up to their usual vantage point, Pollen and Trixx standing guard on their shoulders. "And that the other ingredients should arrive within the next day or two. The whole thing needs to brew for a bit after the last ingredients are added, though, so it's not exactly a _fast_ potion."

Ladybug grinned. "That's great news!" Great news, which they _needed_. The sooner they got Adrien's mom awake and to safety, the sooner they could deal with the Purple Lady. "So within a couple day, then." She glanced over at Chat Noir, wry smile on her face. "I'm not exactly going to miss the evening outings once we have her out."

"Yeah, I've had enough of those tunnels," Chat Noir agreed. "And- oh, there's an opening. Let's go get this over with."

The trip to the door of the cavern went smoothly, with no encounters with the underground police officers. However, that didn't last.

Trixx popped out of the door, frowning. "Mr. Agreste is in there, and it doesn't look like he's going to leave any time soon."

"He looks like he's waiting," Pollen chimed in. "For you guys, probably. What do you want to do?"

Both Ladybug and Chat Noir looked at each other, a little lost. Part of Ladybug wanted to just turn around and leave. Mrs. Agreste would be fine without _one_ nightly dose of her energy-restoring potion, and there would be no chance of them getting double-crossed. But the other part could recognize a chance to get information, and she wanted to grab it with both hands.

It would probably be fine if they proceeded with caution.

"I think if you two check _really_ carefully for traps and make sure that Mr. Agreste doesn't have, like, a phone on him to call Nathalie as soon as we show up, we could probably go in," Ladybug decided after a moment longer, glancing at Chat Noir to gauge his reaction. He nodded encouragingly. "We want to know what _she_ knows, after all, and we should do an update about the potion, too."

"And we want to know where the Peacock is at the moment," Chat Noir added. "If we can get the curse off of it _without_ her noticing, then we should."

"Okay!" Pollen said brightly. "Stay here, we'll check and make sure that it's safe."

With that, the kwamis phased through the door, vanishing from sight again. Ladybug and Chat Noir waited, minutes stretching into an eternity as they stood in the dark, ears listening for any sound at all.

Underground wasn't completely silence. Water dripped, insects scuttled, mice and rats scampered, and strange, unidentified noises filtered their ways through the tunnels. Chat Noir's cat ears flicked back and forth, no doubt picking up even more than she was.

Ladybug nearly screamed when Pollen popped back through the door, a grin on her face. "No traps! You're all good to go in. Mr. Agreste is waiting."

The superheroes nodded. With one last deep breath to calm her nerves, Ladybug led the way in, Chat Noir covering her back. Just as promised, Mr. Agreste sat on a short stool next to Mrs. Agreste, his eyes on her face. As soon as he registered the sound of the door opening and the superheroes' footsteps , his head whipped around, expression turning to relief as he recognized them.

"I was waiting for you," he told them as they approached, rather unnecessarily. "As you may have noticed, I no longer have possession of the Butterfly Miraculous."

"Yeah, we noticed," Chat Noir said dryly, clearly already tired of the formality. "The flaming akuma and the Purple Lady kind of gave that away. Just a little bit."

Mr. Agreste's jaw clenched briefly, but he apparently decided not to get snappy with the superheroes. "Yes, well. We got into an argument several days ago, since she had noticed the slew of underpowered akumas. She decided that she could do it better. I resisted and, well..." His hand raised, rubbing almost absentmindedly at his injured shoulder. "She transformed before I could, and took the Butterfly and Nooroo. I have been downgraded to _potential_ assistant."

"And the Peacock?" Ladybug asked. "Does she still have it? She didn't combine them during the last fight."

"No, she can't send a feather to herself, at least not easily. And because you've found the weakness in the Peacock's protector, she doesn't see it as important as the akuma. I expect that she'll be having me transform with it before long." Mr. Agreste frowned at that idea. "I would rather not, of course. I don't want to do any more with the Heart, and the Body didn't look fun."

"Yeah, definitely _don't_ use Heart," Ladybug said hastily. "Hopefully she'll focus all of her attention on the akumas for now, and we'll try to move as fast as we can on our side. Maybe we'll be able to snag the Peacock at some point and remove the curse so that you don't have to feel the effects, but that would probably be a secondary priority. We kind of have a _lot_ going on at the moment."

Mr. Agreste winced but nodded. "Understood. I'll try to stay out of Nathalie's way so she won't be as likely to think to ask me to come out. I saw your last fight, and it was already hard enough without an extra element. And I've heard Nathalie planning, and she's only going to go for the strongest of emotions, and only go out when the akuma is as strong as she envisioned. And the frequency of those emotions, the ones she used in the fight? Every other day at most, sometimes every three or four. And sometimes those emotions fade away before the akuma can get there."

"So there will likely be some calm before the next storm," Chat Noir said. He and Ladybug exchanged a look. "We can't slack off for a minute. But if we don't have hours-long fights every day, we'll actually have time to work on making some progress on everything."

"I'd ask you to leave a note before you get Emilie out, but I don't know if Nathalie comes down here at all when I'm not in the office," Mr. Agreste said, reaching over and squeezing his wife's hand. "So I guess I'll find out once she's gone. And- oh, I should have told you right away. I have reason to suspect that Nathalie may have found more of Emilie's notes on the Miraculous and the translation work that she was doing on the grimoire and scrolls."

Ladybug felt herself stiffen. That- that did _not_ sound good. "Reason to suspect? And do you have any idea what _kind_ of notes…?"

"I saw her with one of Emilie's notebooks that she often kept hidden. As for the contents…well, I can only guess, but Emilie had been focusing most of her attention on spells. I don't know how many of them will actually be of any real use to Nathalie, as Emilie was largely looking for spells to help with her specific situation, but there may be some in there that you'll want to watch out for."

Ladybug exchanged an anxious look with Chat Noir. _That_ was something that they would want to tell Master Fu right away. He would be able to tell them what kinds of spells were even available to have been translated. If they were lucky, it would only be fairly basic spells. If they _weren't_…

Well, if the Purple Lady started putting the same kind of curse that was on the Peacock on _them_, they would have a _big_ problem.

"I hadn't been able to find Emilie's notes, ah, before," Mr. Agreste said, glancing to the side, the barest hint of his discomfort peeking through his stoic façade at the reference to his time as the city's biggest supervillain. "So I don't know how or _where_ Nathalie found them, and Emilie tried to keep as many of the details about her superhero life as possible away from me, so I don't know what all she translated."

Ladybug nodded in understanding, glancing at Mrs. Agreste. Now this was just all the more important that they wake Mrs. Agreste up soon. She would be _such_ an important source of information once she was up.

"And I think that that's all the updates I have, so I suppose that I should leave you to it." With a nod to them both, Mr. Agreste straightened before striding across the room towards the elevator. There was a quiet _click_ and a _whirrrr_, and then he was gone.

Ladybug was glad that he wasn't staying- even now that he was technically a defeated supervillain, he didn't exactly have a sunny presence- but at the same time, well, if Nathalie found his absence suspicious, or could sense his new relief, she could get suspicious.

Chat Noir was already pulling out his potion. "Let's go quickly. Maybe she's already gone home for the night and we'll be fine, but if she's not, she's too perceptive to miss that he was gone for _forever_ and then came up more relaxed."

"It's like you read my mind." Ladybug was pulling out her own potions, working to keep her hands steady even as she rushed. "I swear, after all of this is done, I am going on _vacation_."

* * *

Master Fu wasn't expecting the two superheroes to tumble in his window at almost eleven at night, when they should have been finishing up with their cavern errand and returning home. He had considered staying up- after all, things _had_ just gone a bit sideways with Mrs. Sancoeur seizing the Butterfly and Nooroo and there was a chance that the superheroes would learn more that evening- but he had discarded the idea. Surely if Mr. Agreste had anything more he wanted to tell the superheroes, he would have said so right away after his fight with Mayura, instead of waiting.

Besides, Wayzz had spied on the tail end of the fight, at least. If there had been anything other than a exchange of Miraculous, they would have _known_. And on top of that, he _had_ checked in with the superheroes right after the fight, so there was nothing new to discuss.

So needless to say, when a _thud_ of boots hitting his floor woke Master Fu up when he was already asleep on his mat, he woke up with a start and panicked reach for his Miraculous. Was- was he being attacked? Had the Purple Lady found him? Oh, if his slow-and-careful approach had ended up failing them _again_-

"Sorry, Master Fu," Ladybug said quickly, before Master Fu could try to roll into fighting stance. "We know we weren't planning on coming, but Mr. Agreste was in the cavern and he had news for us. Some good, some bad."

Master Fu was about to ask about that when Chat Noir beat him to it, clearly puzzled. "Some- some _good?_ Where was I when there was any good news? All I heard was bad, bad, and more bad!"

"He has the Peacock now, because Nathalie doesn't see its powers as that important since the Tiger can tear through the sentimonster," Ladybug reminded him, and Master Fu perked up. "So she's not dual-wielding, and she's not _super_ interested in making him transform and fight. I wouldn't be surprised if she thinks that he'll just get in the way."

"Which, in theory, will make it easier for us to get the Peacock," Master Fu said, his face splitting in a pleased grin. "I was worried about her keeping the Peacock on her. Fantastic."

"_And_ Mr. Agreste said that he didn't think that we would be seeing akumas as often as we used to," Ladybug added. "Because Nathalie wouldn't go after every potential akumatimizable emotion she senses, just the strongest ones. She's not going to go for the battering ram approach like he did."

"Very good, very good." Master Fu liked the sound of that. "I mean, we talked about that before, after the fight, and I suspected that that might be the case. But it's good to have someone closer to the situation think the same thing."

"But there's bad news, too," Chat Noir broke in. "Nathalie has apparently found some notes of Mrs. Agreste's, where she had translated some of the spells from the grimoire and the scrolls. He doesn't know what _kinds_ of spells she had translated, if there might be any that would be dangerous to us. Though at least she can't use the notes to translate anything more, since we have the grimoire and scrolls now," he added to Ladybug. She started nodding, then frowned and gasped.

"But what are the chances that Mr. Agreste _didn't_ have any sort of digital backup?" Ladybug countered. "And Nathalie would demand access to it if she didn't find the kinds of spells she's looking for in Mrs. Agreste's notes."

Master Fu's better mood was gone at once. Ladybug was, as usual, correct. Mr. Agreste was _not_ the kind to not have digital backups, and Ms. Sancoeur would know that. If Mrs. Agreste's notes were through enough, Ms. Sancoeur could easily use them to translate everything else. "I can see what you were saying about bad news. That will make the battles more dangerous. She may decide not to use the spells as a first resort- they offensive ones tend to be _quite_ difficult to learn and execute at anything _close_ to full strength, and if she's in the middle of the fight and not given any breathing room, she won't be able to use them. But if she is given the chance to hide or disengage and come back, she may have the chance to fire off some spells. And if she gets enough warning as you approach, she may go for the spells then."

"So if we keep her busy and sneak up on approach, we should be fine," Chat Noir said, though there was a hint of a question in his voice. "She can't- she can't just fire off spells in an instant like they can in Harry Potter."

"Miraculous spells take a little more time, yes," Master Fu said, smiling at him. "Most offensive spells don't take anywhere near as long as the ones we used to break Mrs. Agreste's bond with the Peacock, but they _do_ take more than a second or two." He sighed, pushing himself up off of the floor. He would have to pull out his notes and do a quick class now. It wasn't ideal, but even if both he and Mr. Agreste suspected that the attacks would be more spread out, they couldn't guarantee that and he _needed_ his two main superheroes to be as safe as possible during their fights. "Even if you try to be careful, though, it would be good for you two to know a couple defensive spells. I can teach you one tonight, and then next time I see you, we can review and I'll teach you another one. And as you might suspect- yes, any spells you use _will_ use some of your kwami's power and drain them. It's best to avoid if possible, though certainly not at the cost of your safety."

Ladybug and Chat Noir nodded in tandem, watching as he gathered up the materials that he would need. As he settled down in front of them, his legs crossed, Master Fu muffled a long sigh.

If he hadn't been so overly cautious about getting Mrs. Agreste recovered and safe before dealing with the Mayura problem, they wouldn't be in this situation right now. He had been so worried about jumping the gun that he had ended up on the opposite side of the spectrum, so hesitant to act that the situation had gotten _far_ worse.

They had to be careful. But if they hesitated, if they waited too long…

Master Fu gave himself a shake. Right now, he had to focus on training the two young heroes. The rest, he would worry about later.

* * *

_a/n: Next up: a DATE! Also some other progress. Woooo_

_As always, reviews make my day! :)_


	16. Uphill

Adrien picked Marinette up at five-thirty on the dot on Saturday evening, dressed in a button-up and nice slacks, with a smart coat over the top. He grinned when he spotted her dress.

"Is that one you made yourself?" Adrien asked curiously, leaning forward to take a closer look at the embroidery working its way across the dress. "It's gorgeous."

Marinette smiled, trying to ignore the sight of her parents hanging around the door, clearly spying on her and Adrien. They were _ecstatic_ at the news that the two of them were dating, which- well, Marinette _really_ wished that she didn't have to lie to her parents. But it was for a good cause. "Thanks! Yeah, I made it myself. It was last summer's project, actually- the embroidery took _forever_."

"It was well worth the time, I'd say. The detail is fantastic." Adrien leaned closer, then clearly realized that he was _really_ in her space and staring at her chest to boot. He hopped back with a yelp. "Sorry! I was just admiring your work. Did you embroider before you put the pieces together, or after? I see it goes over a seam there."

"All after," Marinette admitted with a wince. "Which I regretted a lot, honestly. I should have done most of it before, then the parts over the seams later on. It was a _lot_ of extra fabric to wrestle with."

"Ooh, yeah, I can see that."

Marinette nodded, unsure what else to say in response to that. After the silence had stretched on for a few seconds, her father finally decided to stop pretending that he wasn't eavesdropping and bustled in, wiping the flour off of his hands and onto his apron.

"You two have fun on your date," he told them, beaming. "Marinette, your mom and I will probably be in bed when you come back. You have a key, right? You'll need it to come in. And remember to lock up."

"Lock up and send a text to Maman when I get in," Marinette said, nodding. Her mom had made sure to talk her through her nighttime check-in several times already. She had groaned and protested that _I'm not going to forget, Mom, really_ after the second time, but Mrs. Cheng had just laughed and patted her arm, asking if Marinette was so certain that she would remember everything if Adrien gave her a good-night kiss.

It wasn't going to happen, Marinette knew that. At most, Adrien might press a quick kiss to her cheek before he had to take off to- well, to whatever it was that took up his evenings. Marinette would have to find a spot to transform and jump up to her room to grab the treatment bag, then get back down to the park before Chat Noir spotted her.

But that was _later_, and she would handle it as it came.

Her dad nodded. "Exactly! And if you need anything, text us. Otherwise, have fun."

"We will," Adrien assured him. "And we'll stay safe, too."

Mr. Dupain smiled. "I know you will. Now go on, you don't want to end up in a huge line waiting for dinner, that's no way to start a date. "

"Thanks, Papa!" Marinette bounced forward to hug her father, then joined Adrien again. "Shall we?"

Adrien grinned at her. "Aren't you forgetting something?"

Marinette thought about it, then frowned. "Uh..."

"It's cold outside?" Adrien prompted. Marinette yelped- how could she have forgotten about her _coat_, that was so dumb- and hurried back to the stair banister to grab it and her purse from where she had hung them. Both Adrien and her dad were grinning at her when she turned back, coat zipped up and purse slung over her head.

"Stop laughing, I was excited," Marinette grumbled at her father, looping her arm through Adrien's and tugging him towards the door. "Okay, _now_ I'm ready, let's go."

"Wait, so if your parents are going to be asleep, why do you have to text your mom when you get back?" Adrien asked as they walked down the sidewalk. "They won't see it until morning, right?"

"Mom usually wakes up at least once during the night," Marinette told him. "She's going to check her phone then. If she wakes up and I haven't texted, then they know to check in on me. If I text, then she can just roll over and go back to sleep."

"Oh, that's smart," Adrien said, nodding in understanding. "Otherwise you would have to go home pretty early, right? Since they go to bed super-early as bakers?"

Marinette nodded as they rounded the corner. "Yeah. I mean, before this year they always required that I come home before they went to bed, which- well, fair enough. But they didn't want us to have to rush."

Adrien grinned. "And I thank them for it."

They had decided to not go anywhere _too_ fancy, since there was no reason to break the bank over a cover story. Still, they could tell from a block away that there was already a line of people waiting to be seated.

That wasn't the only thing they noticed.

"We have a tail," Adrien murmured, sliding his hand around Marinette's elbow and ducking down to speak directly into her ear as they headed up the block. "Nino and Alya and several of the other girls. They aren't being nearly as subtle as they think they are." He paused. "Hey, I thought that Nino was supposed to be playing video games with Max! Alya must have dragged him out."

Marinette groaned, trying not to blush bright red. She had _told_ Alya not to follow her and Adrien, and clearly she hadn't listened. They would probably justify it as _oh, at least it wasn't your FIRST_ _date_, but that didn't make it _better_.

Besides, no matter what they had told their friends, it _was_ their first date. A _fake_ first date, but it was a start.

"We'll have to put on a show for them," Adrien said, pulling Marinette closer. She could feel him hesitate for a moment. "Uh. What- how close should we be acting?"

Marinette resisted the urge to suggest kissing. She wasn't really sure if she wanted to do that unless Adrien actually _meant_ it and besides, this wasn't exactly the place for that. Instead, she tried to think back to when Alya and Nino had started dating. "Uh...cuddling? I think Nino and Alya were doing a lot of that early on."

"Cuddling and giggling," Adrien agreed with a nod. "We can do that. I was thinking that it might be a good idea anyway, honestly, since my fans tend to take pictures of me when they spot me out and then post them online." He cringed. "Which you knew already. This isn't exactly the first time you've been called my girlfriend."

Marinette nodded with a wince of her own. It was hard to forget _that_ particular incident. Chased across the city in her pajamas- at least Adrien had said that they were cute- by Adrien's too-excitable fans, an interrupted movie not-date, followed up by a nerve-wracking akuma battle that saw Adrien almost killed.

Hopefully tonight would be a little less exciting. A _lot_ less exciting, really.

They joined the line, and from her new position, Marinette could clearly see Rose and Alya peering over a bench. They were getting some pretty funny looks, but funny looks had never bothered her friends.

"They won't be able to follow us inside, hopefully," Adrien pointed out, wrapping an arm around Marinette's shoulders and pulling her close. Marinette huddled closer, a little giddy at the contact and more than happy to huddle with Adrien against the cold. "And we'll have to lose them before eight-thirty."

Marinette sighed. "Hopefully they'll get bored. Otherwise, we're going to have to shake them. A little chase on the subway might throw them off, but I don't..." She glanced over at Adrien. He had only had his first ride on the subway that year, he had told them, and he had only been on the city buses once, too. "I don't know how well _you_ know the city. I don't want you to get lost."

Adrien smiled at her. "That's nice of you to be worried! But maybe we can do subway one way and then take a bus back? Or we could start on the bus, because they wouldn't be able to get on without us noticing and they would know that."

"I like the way you think!" Marinette held out her free fist and Adrien bumped it. Then she perked up. "Hey, the line is moving forward!"

"I think we might be able to get inside- yep, there was a _huge_ family holding up the line." Adrien held open the door for Marinette to get in, then followed her. "Hopefully there'll be less of a wait for us, since we just need a table for two."

As it turned out, Adrien was right. The wait wasn't bad at all, and then they were being led to a table by the window.

Marinette groaned internally, and one glance to the side told her that Adrien felt the same. Their friends could _definitely_ spy on them if they were sitting at the window. But there was no way that they could ask for a different table without looking _seriously_ stuck-up and picky and besides, most of the small tables for two were either at or near the windows.

"They could still get bored of watching us talk without being able to overhear," Adrien suggested as he pulled out Marinette's chair for her. "And watching us eat. Speaking of which- want to split an appetizer?"

Even though the date was fake and the people around them probably couldn't care less about a couple of teens out together, Adrien was playing the perfect boyfriend. Marinette tried not to become a blushing pile of goo.

It was _fake_, she had to remember that. She and Adrien were good friends now, and so she had to act _normally_. Besides, Adrien was going to have his life flipped upside down sometime soon, with his father and Nathalie going to jail and his mom mysteriously reappearing out of thin air. He would need all of the friendly support he could get, and if Marinette was reading Adrien right, if he was dating, he would get stressed out feeling like he had to still be a good boyfriend during that fallout.

It wasn't a good time to get into a relationship. It could wait.

Even though it wasn't a date, Marinette was having a _fantastic_ time. She and Adrien split a lovely appetizer- some sort of spinach-artichoke dip that Adrien had recommended- and then tasted each other's dishes once they arrived, chatting the whole time. Adrien knew a lot about fashion, so they spent a good ten minutes talking about the trends. At one point, they wandered a little too close to the topic of _Gabriel_ and Adrien visibly stiffened up. Hastily, Marinette changed the subject to fashion trends in America, and Adrien slowly relaxed again.

Clearly he still suspected that something was up at home. Marinette had to wonder how much he suspected, or if it was just a nagging feeling that something wasn't quite right. Maybe he had seen Nathalie and noticed that something was very wrong, or maybe his father wasn't quite doing as good of a job as he had intended at hiding his stress from Nathalie seizing his Miraculous.

From there, their conversation wandered. They chatted about school and classes and friends. Adrien brought up fencing, and Marinette managed to slip in a question about where Kagami went to school. They touched on the upcoming holiday party and their plans for picking up the party supplies that Ms. Bustier had ordered on their request, and then wandered off into talking about anything and everything and nothing, all at once.

By the time they finished their meal and paid, Marinette's cheeks hurt from smiling. She and Adrien had finished off their meal with a round of punning, puns getting increasingly more ridiculous until they collapsed in giggles and the other diners started giving them dirty looks. They were still snickering as they headed out the door and towards a fro-yo shop that Marinette knew about.

"I never knew that you were such a punner, Mari," Adrien said with a laugh, looping his arm through hers again. "We gotta pun more often. Nino _hates_ it, I swear. I wanna see if he'll _actually_ start whacking his head against the wall, like he always threatens that he's going to do."

Marinette laughed. "We'll have to. It'll- it'll make things look more _real_."

"Speaking of which- apparently our friends have no life." Adrien gave his head a small jerk back and to the side. "They're still following us."

"Head to the bus station after we get our fro-yo, then?"

Adrien checked his phone. "Is it almost eight already? Where did the time _go?_" He flopped face-first down on Marinette's shoulder. "But I was having _fun_."

Marinette laughed. "We could always do this again sometime. Everyone is probably going to expect it, after all."

"And maybe we can make reservations somewhere next time so we don't spend so much time waiting to be seated." Adrien made a face. "I honestly wasn't expecting that. I thought five-thirty was a _perfect_ time to go to dinner, early enough to beat the rush and get our meal at a good time."

"At least we didn't have to wait out in the cold the whole time," Marinette pointed out. "_That_ was only a couple minutes."

Adrien laughed. "At least you had your coat." He grinned when Marinette swatted at his arm. "And now, when it's cold outside, we're getting frozen yogurt."

"But it's so _good!_ And we can eat it inside."

If Marinette weren't already in love with Adrien, the way he threw his head back to let out a free, wholehearted laugh would have had her falling for him all over again.

Still, no matter how fun the evening had been, it needed to come to an end. Adrien had some sort of commitment, and Marinette...well, she had to go take care of her Ladybug duties. There were the potions to give to Adrien's mom, and then Master Fu had contacted them to let them know that the potion was almost ready and they could come over after they came out of the catacombs to learn it. So once the last bit of yogurt had been scraped from the bottoms of their cups, they hopped on a bus to ride the handful of blocks back to their neighborhood. Outside of the windows of their bus, Adrien and Marinette watched as their friends' faces fell as they realized that they couldn't follow the two of them any longer. As the bus started up, Adrien made eye contact with the group of stalkers and smirked, making it clear as anything that they had been caught. Marinette couldn't help snickering as she watched the shock spread across their expressions.

_Busted_.

"Will you be all right getting home?" Adrien asked as they hopped off the bus. He was checking his watch. "I_ should_ walk you there, I feel-"

"Adrien, I live _literally_ a block away. I'll be _fine_," Marinette assured him. "Besides, I have something to do before I go home."

Adrien relaxed and nodded. "Right! Right, I knew that. Okay, then, uh..." He stuck out his hand, suddenly awkward. "Good night?"

Marinette laughed, grabbing his hand and using it to tug Adrien towards her so that she could press a kiss to his cheek. "Good night, Adrien."

Adrien flushed red but grinned as he returned the gesture. He took a step back, waved, and then turned to head off down the road. Marinette watched him go until he rounded a corner, unable to resist wondering what Adrien was up to. She hoped that he was safe and not taking any risks, but she wasn't going to pry. After all, Adrien hadn't pried into what _she_ was going to be doing or why she needed to have a cover story ready. And he was _smart_, Marinette had to remember that. His father was ridiculously strict, too, so Adrien might be up to something entirely innocent.

Sighing, Marinette turned and headed for the park to transform behind a tree. She couldn't worry about Adrien right now. After all, she had another Agreste to go focus on.

* * *

"Girl, I want deets!"

Marinette laughed as Alya pounced on her in the park, the other girls not far behind her. She had known this would happen when they came out to do some caroling near City Hall, but since there was no point in pushing it off to Monday (or risking having Alya storm her room), Marinette had decided to just bite the bullet. "I know you were following us the entire time, Alya. You saw how it went."

Alya groaned. "We couldn't get close enough to overhear anything! So, like I said- _deets?_"

"I feel like I should be alarmed by that statement," Marinette said dryly. "Considering that it implies that you _tried_."

Alya only shrugged. "Hey, you hadn't told me about the two-_possibly_-more dates it was that you had _before_ this one, I thought it was only fair. And it wasn't just that there were only minimal details, there were _no_ details. We didn't even know that these date were _happening_, and what kind of thanks is that when we spent so much time trying to get you and Adrien together?"

Marinette's cheeks flamed as she tried to discretely glance around to make sure that Adrien wasn't in earshot. She _really_ didn't want him to find out about her crush and think that she had been taking advantage of the situation or anything. But Adrien was with Nino several meters back, peering at something on Nino's cell phone, completely oblivious to the interrogation that Marinette was about to undergo.

At least he had been able to stick with her for the first round of interrogation.

"I told you before, we were trying to keep it low-profile because of his father and fans," Marinette tried weakly, wishing more than ever that she and Adrien had claimed that it was their first date instead of saying that they were several dates in. Adrien hadn't known how invested Alya would be, though, so she couldn't blame him _too_ much. "And we wanted to make sure that we were, y'know, actually compatible as more than friends before we told the class and had them rooting for us." She crossed her arms and gave Alya a dry look. "Besides, you never told me any details about how you and Nino got together. _And_ I didn't interrogate you about any of your dates."

"Okay, fair enough," Alya admitted. "I'll let you off on the first dates. But I gotta know what went on on _this_ one. It seemed like you two were having a lot of fun."

Marinette smiled at the memory. "We were! We ended up in a pun-off at the end of dinner-"

Alix groaned. "Okay, okay, we don't need to know about _that_ part, that's boring. Also weird."

"Not if you see it for what it is- _flirting!_" Alya grinned. Then she leveled a look at Marinette. "Though I gotta ask- who was humoring who?"

This time, Marinette blinked, puzzled. "Who was- what do you mean?"

"Don't tell me that you _both_ happen to like punning- oh, there is no _way_," Alya complained when Marinette grinned and nodded, utterly amused. "Oh, come _on_."

Alix gagged loudly.

"But what else did you do besides the punning?" Rose asked eagerly. "What happened during dinner?"

"What did you eat?" Juleka chimed in.

After a moment's consideration, Marinette decided that it would be best to just tell the truth- to an outsider, it _would_ sound like a date. And since Marinette's friends were eager to see anything and everything in a romantic light- even the pun battle!- it would easily be enough. She started with the appetizers, and the fact that they had split it had Rose cooing. When she mentioned that she and Adrien had sampled each other's dinners, her friends started _aww_ing.

...Marinette had thought that it was pretty normal, honestly. That way, they got to try more dishes without buying a sampler platter. It wasn't as though they had been _feeding_ each other or anything.

"Okay, I'll admit, I was ready to do some hardcore judging of that food question, but I'm glad you _did_ ask," Alix told Juleka. "That's cute."

"Did you share your fro-yo, too?" Rose asked eagerly. She squealed when Marinette nodded. "So cute!"

"He was curious about the combo I had," Marinette told them, smiling as she remembered the surprised face Adrien had made when he tried her salty-sweet combo. He had clearly expected it to taste awful. "And then it was only fair that I taste-tested his, too."

"Soon you'll be graduating to sharing one ice cream cone," Alya told her with a grin. "_Without_ using a spoon to eat it."

Rose clapped her hands together eagerly. "Or with spoons, but using them to feed each other! That would be super-cute!"

Marinette let herself giggle and relax. "It's a little too cold for ice cream right now, I think. Adrien was already teasing me about the fro-yo last night."

As her friends went into another round of cooing over that, Marinette let herself sit back and enjoy it, pretending for a minute that she was a normal girl with a completely normal life, no fake relationships or worries about supervillains weighing her down. She would have to come back to reality soon enough- after all, she couldn't forget herself around Adrien and Ladybug _always_ needed to be on the lookout for akumas (and she had to visit Master Fu later in the afternoon for more spell training)- but for now, this was nice.

* * *

Jade Turtle was with them again, for the first time since their very first visit.

"You know your parts of the spell, right?" he checked as they walked down the now-familiar tunnels. "Everyone is ready? No one is going to mix up this spell with the defensive ones I was teaching you earlier?"

Chat Noir nodded, and he could see Ladybug's sharp nod next to him. He couldn't deny the nerves that were building up in his stomach now, twisting and turning and making him feel ill.

They were going to be waking up his mom tonight. At least, they would be if everything went to plan.

Like usual, the cavern was empty except for Mrs. Agreste. That didn't stop them from glancing around warily as they approached, knowing that the Purple Lady could very well be only a short elevator ride away. Jade Turtle started setting out the candles with practiced ease as Ladybug started administering the potion, one to two drops at a time. Chat Noir let out a breath, trying to focus and center himself like Master Fu had told him to do.

He had to focus on what the _likely_ outcomes were and the truth of the situation, and it didn't look bad at all. His mom was gaining strength and wasn't in the danger zone. If the spell failed this time, they would run through a few more times before giving up for the night. They would make more of the potion- which wouldn't take long at all, now that they had all of the ingredients and in excess- and try again as soon as they could. They wanted it to work sooner rather than later, sure, but it wasn't the end of the world if their first run-through tonight was a failure.

Chat Noir's nerves calmed at the reminder.

"It will probably take another ten minutes for Ladybug to finish up," Jade Turtle told Chat Noir, lighting up one last candle before coming over to join him. "And then we'll try the spell. As soon as it works..."

"Minimal explanations as we get her out of here," Chat Noir finished. "In case Nathalie feels the magic pulse and comes down to investigate. And if she does, Trixx will be down here to make illusions to make it look and sound like nothing's changed."

Jade Turtle nodded. "Precisely."

Chat Noir couldn't help but feel tense as he watched Ladybug drip the last of the potion into his mom's mouth. Her focus and determination was a steadying force for sure, but- he could have his _mom_ again. Maybe he wouldn't get to see her as Adrien right away- or maybe she would demand to see him and his father would give in- but she would be alive and _moving_ and not in which might as well be a glass coffin underground. He watched as Ladybug checked the vial to make sure that it was empty, and then she turned around.

"We're ready. Let's go."

Later on, Chat Noir would have to admit that he didn't remember most of the spellcasting. He had kept his eyes trained on Ladybug in order to not get distracted by any movements that his mom made. He had clicked into autopilot, reciting the words that he had practiced so many times until he reached the end. He and his partner had stood on either side of the coffin-bed with their hands linked together, and Ladybug hadn't complained about how tight his grip no doubt was. Blue magic swirled around them in the corners of their vision, casting the entire space in a eerie blue glow.

And then it condensed around his mom, and she glowed for several seconds before the light vanished all at once.

There was a gasp, and only once Ladybug looked down and loosened her grip on Chat Noir's hands did he allow himself to look down, too. His mom was stirring properly now, groaning as she stretched and opened her eyes.

Chat Noir did his best to not collapse in relief.

And then Emilie Agreste blinked and absolutely _bolted_ upright. Ladybug and Chat Noir had their hands out in a flash to stabilize her if needed, but she seemed steady enough.

"What happened? Where-" Her head whipped around, landing on the three of them. "Who _are_ you?"

"It's all right, Mrs. Agreste," Ladybug said immediately, and Chat Noir couldn't help but be relieved that he didn't have to talk right now. He wasn't entirely certain that his voice would work properly. "We'll explain everything fully later on, but we need to get out of here first. How are you feeling? Are you able to get up?"

Mrs. Agreste accepted Ladybug's hand as she slowly slid down to the bottom of the bed. She paused when she met the bottom, and Chat Noir hastily moved over to lift her up and over, gently letting her feet down to the floor before stepping back. She wavered for a second, but held up a hand to stop them from helping her. "Why do we need to get out of here? This is my hideout. My house is just- it's over here, there's an elevator-"

"I'm sorry, but you can't go back there right now," Ladybug said firmly, and Mrs. Agreste's eyes snapped to her. "There's been some incidents while you were asleep."

"How long-?" Mrs. Agreste glanced around, then back at the bed where she had laid. She gasped. "Oh _my_. None of that medical stuff was there before, and my plants were smaller, I know that. How long was I out for?"

Jade Turtle stepped forward with a small bow. "Around a year and a half, I'm afraid. I'm sorry that I wasn't aware before that the Peacock was out and being used while under a curse, or I would have come before."

"A year and a half!" Mrs. Agreste looked like she was on the verge of fainting. "And it's dangerous to go up now- did the demons come back? And my son- he doesn't know anything about all of this- is he okay?"

"You did a fantastic job pushing the demons back before you collapsed," Jade Turtle assured her, removing his shield-shell-hat from his head and letting it hover in midair. "There's not been any sign of them since. But there's another situation, and they could have noticed the magical pulse, so we need to evacuate and explain on the way."

Mrs. Agreste nodded as she let him help her into the shell. It dipped down a little lower for Jade Turtle to climb in, and then he led the way towards the back entrance. Ladybug followed them, and Chat Noir brought up the tail of the group. As they headed down the walkway- _quickly_, before Nathalie could come- Chat Noir looked back in time to see Trixx winding his way back to the little grove. He spotted Chat Noir watching and winked before a puff of orange smoke moved into the box, taking the form of Mrs. Agreste. The faint beeping started up again, so quiet that it was only because of his enhanced hearing that Chat Noir was able to hear it at all. Presumably it would get louder once they left and it wouldn't stir any more questions in his mom.

Just as they left the cavern and Chat Noir swung the door shut behind him, he heard the faint mechanical whirring of the elevator as it descended into the lair. He hastily shut the door, hearing it _click_ as the lock slid into place. As an extra precaution, he shoved a few loose chunks of rock up against the door before sprinting after the rest of the group.

The rest of the group, where Ladybug was filling Mrs. Agreste in on what was going on, though he noticed that she wasn't sharing _quite_ all of the details yet. They didn't want to overwhelm his mom, after all, since she had only _just_ woken up.

Still, his mom had been a superhero and she was as smart as Ladybug. Chat Noir could see her picking up on where Ladybug was leaving gaps in the information, and he could see her frowning in thought as she tried to fill those gaps in with the knowledge that she had.

Her frown got deeper as she put together the dots and realized who was behind the akuma attacks and Mayura's appearance.

"I spent a _huge _chunk of my life dedicating myself to being a superhero, and what does my husband turn to to get me back as soon as I collapse? Supervillainry!" Mrs. Agreste exclaimed as soon as Ladybug finished talking. Ladybug, who hadn't _quite_ gotten around to explaining _who_ Hawkmoth and Mayura were- or at least, who they _had_ been- looked startled. "He'll be getting a piece of my mind for sure. I can see why we couldn't go back upstairs. And Nathalie! I thought she was better than that."

"She's more dangerous now," Ladybug said quietly, as though she was trying to lessen the blow from her words. "She started out using Body when she used the Peacock, but then she switched to Heart."

Chat Noir could see his mom's eyes close as she mouthed _no_.

"Also if it helps, Mr. Agreste turned himself in to us as soon as he overheard us mentioning that we knew how to break the curse and also a cure," Ladybug offered, though it sounded a little weak. "He's been working with us ever since. But, uh, Nathalie noticed that he wasn't doing a very good job and she, uh. Took the Butterfly Miraculous."

This time, Mrs. Agreste's wince was a lot more obvious.

"She hasn't tried using them together yet, at least," Chat Noir chimed in, finally feeling confident enough that his voice would sound normal now. "But we have to keep an eye on the situation, of course, because it could change at any moment."

Mrs. Agreste nodded. "Understood." She glanced around at them, and Chat Noir could tell that her energy was starting to flag already, though she was doing her best to hide it. With a jolt, he remembered her doing the same thing before she vanished. She would come into his room to talk to him for a bit or play piano with him, then leave for a "meeting" or a "phone call" for several hours. He hadn't thought anything of it at the time because that had been his normal, but now, with the information that he had...

"I made reservations in a small hotel for tonight and tomorrow night," Jade Turtle said before Mrs. Agreste could ask any more questions. "With instructions for them to not come in during the day. I'm not a huge fan of their security or their location, so I was thinking that for the longer term, we might try to move you to the Grand Paris during the second night."

"But that's so expensive!" Mrs. Agreste exclaimed. "I mean, I like the Grand Paris, the rooms are so nice and large, but I don't exactly have my credit card on me."

"We have connections at the Grand Paris," Jade Turtle told her before turning around to face a puzzled Ladybug and Chat Noir. They hadn't heard this part of the plan yet. "Queen Bee is there. With the right incentive, I believe that she could set up the room and bring meals, so we can keep the news of your return from getting out."

Chat Noir perked up. Oh, that was so smart! Chloe _had_ been a bit better recently (well, at least after Ladybug had made a special trip to the Grand Paris several months prior to tell her in no uncertain terms that Chloe would _not_ be helping with any of the akuma that she played a role in creating and she would get her superhero privileges revoked if she didn't stop behaving in a way that upset people), and she had _loved_ his mom. She would 100% help and probably set things up so that his father wouldn't get charged until later on, when they could be sure that Nathalie wouldn't notice it.

"And for meals for tomorrow?" Ladybug asked. "I mean, I'm sure Mrs. Agreste is hungry right now."

"I have some food packed," Jade Turtle assured them. "And I brought money, if one of you could swing down to a take-out place to pick up dinner for tonight."

Chat Noir's hand was up to volunteer in an instant. He knew his mom's favorite place and her favorite thing to order there. He was sure that if Ladybug went she would pick out something good, but he wanted to give his mom the best possible welcome back. "I can do that!"

Jade Turtle smiled. "Thank you, Chat Noir." Then his attention slid back to Mrs. Agreste. "Now, we heard _some_ information about how you ended up where you were, but we were lacking a bit on the specifics. You said something about demons?"

"It was what we called them, yes," Mrs. Agreste said, hiding a yawn. "Every so often, it would seem as though a hole tore across the sky, and these- these _things_ would come out. And I would transform, and Nathalie would accept the feather, and the being that came from her would fight back the demons. When they were back through the hole, it would close…for a time, at least. And I would use a spell to- to make Paris forget. We didn't want people to panic."

Jade Turtle nodded, and Chat Noir did, too. He remembered Master Fu mentioning something similar before, a portal or sorts between worlds. It still _sounded_ odd, like something that would _never_ happen in their world, but, well…

He could have said the same thing about akuma attacks once upon a time, too. Maybe it was just a matter of getting used to the strange.

"I wanted to find a spell to close the portal for good, because with every transformation, my energy got drained a little more. We…" Mrs. Agreste started, before cutting off with an alarming wobble. They all reached out to steady her.

"Okay, story time can wait until later," Jade Turtle said quickly. "Guys, let's focus on getting out quickly now."

The rest of the trip back up to the surface took almost no time at all. Pollen popped out of the manhole cover to make sure that the coast was clear, and then they all clambered up.

"Oh, it's chilly," Mrs. Agreste said almost at once, wrapping her arms around herself. "It's winter, isn't it? Which means I've been gone for closer to a year and a half. More, even."

"I did pack a jacket!" Ladybug announced, pulling her yo-yo off of her hip and opening it up. "Chat Noir and I had talked about getting trench coats so that we would be less visible going down into the drain and, well, I never found one in my size, but I _had_ bought a larger one. And- ah-ha! Right here!"

Mrs. Agreste blinked as Ladybug pulled a very long trench coat out of her very small yo-yo with all the flair of Mary Poppins producing a coat rack from a carpetbag. "I- uh, thank you."

"That will help you blend in, too," Jade Turtle announced. "All right, Mrs. Agreste. Let's get you into your hotel room so that you can get some food and a bit of sleep. We can get you fully caught up with as many details as you want tomorrow."

"All right," Mrs. Agreste agreed, settling the coat across her shoulders with all the ease of a practiced supermodel. "That sounds _fabulous_. Lead the way."

* * *

_a/n: So the interdimensional "demons" were teased earlier in the story, I think (or at least I tried to bring them up), but it's been a bit. There'll be more on them later :)_

_As always, reviews make my day!_


	17. Stabilizing

Ladybug and Chat Noir went over to visit Chloe right after school let out. She was _thrilled_ to see them, of course, and immediately called for room service so that they could have snacks while they talked. As they sat down, she was clearly hiding a nervous smile.

It only took Chat Noir a second to figure out what his old friend was no doubt thinking- that she was going to get to use her Miraculous on a more regular basis, or even _keep_ it, if they could think of a safe way for her to do that. They were going to have to (gently) let her down on that, but hopefully the news of Mrs. Agreste's safe return would keep her from being _too_ disappointed.

Of course, the _other_ news that they were going to be sharing wasn't going to be quite so good. He and Ladybug hadn't _wanted_ to share _all_ of their news with Chloe, of course, but there was no real way to get her to understand who was and who absolutely was _not_ allowed to visit Mrs. Agreste without letting Chloe in on _everything_.

Besides, Chat Noir knew how close Chloe had been to his family. She knew their dynamics. Even if they didn't _willingly_ let her in on everything, it wouldn't take her long to piece things together. He would prefer that she made those connections while he and Ladybug were the only ones around her, instead of, say, in the middle of her father's _very_ packed hotel restaurant during the dinner rush.

And on top of _that_, they would be pulling in _all_ of the bonus superheroes for the final battle, so the two of them might as well tell Chloe the whole truth now instead of in a few days.

"We need your help," Ladybug started out, and Chat Noir tried not to wince at that. Chloe was _totally_ going to misinterpret her words. Thankfully, Ladybug wasn't one to let her words hang and get Chloe's hopes up _too_ much. "We've made a few discoveries lately, and one of them _has_ to be hidden from public view until this is all over. You have to _promise_ me that you won't let it get out."

Chloe looked confused now. "O...kay? I promise?"

"It's a person," Ladybug explained. "A person who Hawkmoth wanted brought back more than anything. They were under a curse and now they're awake again."

Chloe let out a gasp, sitting up straight. "So is that- is that why the fights got easier for a bit? There were over a week where you didn't call me or Rena Rouge or Carapace at all. And then- and then that last fight was harder again, _super_ hard, and Hawkmoth is a lady now- was Hawkmoth defeated by a _bigger_ supervillain and now the bigger supervillain wants this person, and we have to smuggle them out of the country and-"

Chat Noir had to laugh at that. "You were _so_ close up until that smuggling bit. We had a confrontation with Hawkmoth and found out his goal of de-cursing this person. We knew that we could achieve it peacefully, _without_ giving up our Miraculous. He told us his identity-"

If Chloe's eyes got any bigger, they were going to pop out of her head. "He gave up his identity? Who is he? I gotta get back at him for breaking in here and demanding my Miraculous and _threatening_ me, the ass-"

"We'll get to that," Ladybug said hastily, picking up the story from Chat Noir. "So yes, he called a truce. But by that point, Mayura was in the picture. And I'm sure you've heard us mention it before- she's been using a cursed Miraculous. It's the same one that Hawkmoth's wife used to become a super_hero_-"

"_Hawkmoth's wife used to be a superhero?_" Chloe's voice reached the approximate pitch of a dog whistle, and Chat Noir tried not to flinch. "Are you _serious?_ Oh, that's going to be an interesting reunion," she added with a snort. "She's going to beat up his ass, isn't she?"

"_Anyway_," Chat Noir said hastily. "Cursed Miraculous, Mayura. Hawkmoth's wife used it, and the curse took a price of _body_, sending her into a coma. Mayura used a price of _Soul_. She's heartless at this point. It can be cured, but only once we get her contained. And as you might have guessed, she and Hawkmoth got in a fight, and she took his Miraculous. So until the Purple Lady is defeated, we need to keep Hawkmoth's wife out of the public eye and out of his house."

Chloe frowned. "Wait, why would anyone even _notice_ her? There's thousands and thousands- _millions_, actually- of people in France. She's just one person. Why would anyone _bother_ taking note of her if she went out?"

Chat Noir smiled, exchanging a look with Ladybug that clearly said _let me take care of this_. He pulled up a picture of his mom on his baton as he talked. "Well, you see, she's a bit high-profile. In fact, I think you might know her?"

He turned his baton screen towards Chloe, showing off the selfie that he had snapped the night before of himself, Ladybug, and Mrs. Agreste. Chloe's eyes flew wide in an instant, and a hand went to her mouth as she gasped.

"But-! But that's Mrs. Agreste! She's alive and okay and- oh my _god_ I can't believe this," Chloe gasped, eyes already starting to water. "My father thought that she was dead for _sure_ after she was missing for a few months, because how often do people _really_ get found alive after that amount of time? But she _is_ alive, and Adrien can have his mom back- _oh!_" Chloe sat up straight, fixing them with a serious look. "I can see where you're going with this, and yes, I can get her a room at the Grand Paris and set it up so that so none of the staff know that she's there, on the condition that Adrien finds out and gets to come visit whenever. I don't care what story you have to spin if you don't want him to know that Mr. Agreste is Hawkmoth- _oh my god Mr. Agreste is Hawkmoth_."

"Was," Ladybug corrected. "He no longer has his Miraculous."

Chloe's expression had turned dark. "That piece of _shit_. He's a terrible father, a _supervillain,_ a would-be _kidnapper_, a thief-"

"He'll be going to jail," Chat Noir assured her. "We made that very clear from the start, that turning himself in would _not_ excuse him from any of the charges that the city prosecutor wants to throw at him. And from what we've heard, it's a pretty extensive list." _Really_ extensive, actually. He and Ladybug had gotten to see the list when the mayor called them in to discuss the new Butterfly holder. The two of them hadn't been able to tell him much, besides confirming that yes, there was a new Butterfly, that they were training to be at their best during the fights, and the citizens of Paris _needed_ to be moving out of the way quickly when there was an akuma in the area. They also confirmed that there were plans in place to end the attacks for once and for all, but they couldn't risk sharing the information with anyone.

Mr. Bourgeois hadn't been happy about being left out of the loop, but he also could acknowledge that he wasn't part of the main superhero team with only minimal whining.

"Can I punch him before he goes?"

Chat Noir tried not to sigh. Ladybug looked like she was trying hard not to laugh.

"No, seriously, _can I?_"

"Not while transformed," Ladybug said after another pause. "...but I'm not going to stop you if you want to punch him as yourself."

"_Excellent_." Chloe clapped her hands together eagerly. Then she frowned. "Okay, so that's the _old_ Hawkmoth. But about Mayura-slash-Purple Lady? I can't think of anyone who Mr. Agreste would trust enough to tell about something like that except for Mrs. Agreste. Mrs. Agreste and- oh, _gosh_. _Nathalie_."

"She's good," Ladybug said, glancing at Chat Noir. "I can see why you said that we shouldn't even try to hide anything. Yeah, it's Nathalie. But we _can_ undo the damage that the Peacock has done to her. We just need to take her down first."

Chloe nodded, looking seriously overwhelmed. But she sniffed and pulled herself together. "And my condition? That Adrien gets to find out about his mom?"

"Mrs. Agreste has already requested the same thing," Ladybug told her with a smile. "So we will be putting together some sort of cover story so that he can come and visit."

Chloe beamed. "Oh, great! I'll go get a room set up right away," she told them, getting up right away. "There's one up on this floor, actually, and daddy _never_ rents it out because we don't like having strangers up where we are. It's still cleaned regularly, though, since my mom uses it when she comes to Paris. I'll go mark it as occupied in the computer, and then put in a do-not-enter note."

"And for meals, we were wondering if you would be able to bring them over to Mrs. Agreste," Ladybug told her. "So that we don't have _too_ many people finding out about her. The more that know, the more likely that it'll get leaked to the press, and then who knows what will happen."

Chloe nodded. "Yeah! I'll just have them bring up two meals whenever I eat, and I'll carry one over to her. The one that you're going to have to worry about telling people is Adrien," Chloe added. "He's going to be _so _excited. And I would bet _anything_ that he's going to want to tell his girlfriend."

* * *

As soon as it was dark, the superheroes made the move. Mrs. Agreste was greeted to the Grand Paris with a warm meal, a gift basket, and several changes in clothes set out on the bed. One hour after she settled, Adrien was "officially" told about his mom's return.

The story that he was fed was that she had simply been found, and that due to ongoing investigation it was vital to not tell anyone about her return, _including_ Nathalie, the Gorilla, and any of the other household staff.

Surprisingly, though, his father had hesitated after saying that and then told Adrien that it would be all right for him to tell his girlfriend and _only_ his girlfriend, as long as _she_ didn't tell anyone. Adrien puzzled over that as he headed up to his mom's hotel room, but it was Plagg who figured it out.

"He wants you to have a support system," Plagg said, peeking out of Adrien's jacket. "And he approves of Marinette."

"He _does_, and I'm going to end up having to introduce Marinette to my mom as my girlfriend." Adrien groaned, running his hands down his face. "It was supposed to just be an excuse to be able to keep doing my superhero duties."

"But you like pigtails, don't deny it," Plagg teased. "You had fun on your _date_. You want to go on another one."

Adrien flushed, but he evaded instead of answering. He pointed at Plagg. "Ah-ha! You _do_ know Marinette's name! You just like pretending that you don't."

Plagg yawned widely. "I don't know what you're talking about."

"You do so, you little liar." Still, there was no heat in Adrien's voice. He paused as he reached the top floor of the hotel. "Do... d'you think that I _should_ tell Marinette? I mean, _technically_ I have Chloe to talk to, but..." He trailed off. Even though he had technically been friends with Chloe for longer, it just wasn't the _same_ somehow. "Marinette was there for me when Father and Nathalie were fighting."

"I think you could tell her," Plagg said, with surprisingly little hesitation. "And that you _should_. She's good for you. And she's trustworthy. If you tell her not to tell anyone, she won't."

Adrien nodded.

Chloe was waiting for him in the hallway, looking eager.

"I have the key to her room," she told Adrien, grabbing his arm and pulling him along. "She's doing well, and she just had dinner, and she _really_ wants to see you. If you want to stay over tonight-"

"I'll think about it," Adrien said noncommittally, knowing already that he wouldn't. His mom _needed_ to rest, and she couldn't (or wouldn't) do that if he were around. "Has my father already...?"

The weird flash of emotions that crossed Chloe's face as she tried not to react (or, rather, tried not to give anything away) was _hilarious_ and totally made the question (which Adrien already knew the answer to) completely worth it.

"Not here," Chloe said after a moment. "I know she was at a different place before for a night, so maybe he saw her there."

He hadn't. Adrien knew (because he was Chat Noir) that his father didn't dare leave the mansion to visit his mom, since Nathalie would notice and might try to follow to figure out what he was up to. There was also the fact that his mom was very, _very_ ticked at his father and him seeing her at the moment probably wasn't a good idea.

Chloe pulled a key card out of her pocket and swiped it, then pushed open the door. "Mrs. Agreste? Adrien is here-"

"_ADRIEN!_" There was a flash of blue and blond, and then Adrien was being swept up in a bone-crushing hug. "My darling boy- oh, how you've grown-!"

"_Mom_," Adrien managed, feeling _far_ too emotional considering that he had known where his mom was for nearly two weeks now and had already seen her awake and up. He sniffed, then buried his face in her shoulder. After a few minutes, he realized that she was rocking him gently.

"I'm back, darling, and I'm safe," she was crooning, stroking his hair. "And I'm not going away again, I promise. I'm staying here."

Adrien nodded, not trusting his voice to speak.

After a few more minutes, he felt composed enough to lift his head back up. His mom beamed down at him, her own eyes a little watery.

"So Chloe has been telling me a little about what kinds of things you've been up to in the past- oh, gosh, year and a half? Year and three-quarters?" Mrs. Agreste shook her head, looking overwhelmed. "It's been so long, it's hard to believe. But I want to hear it from _you_."

Adrien beamed. He wouldn't be able to tell her _everything_ (at least not yet- he was hoping that he would be able to tell her that he was Chat Noir since _she_ used to be a superhero, too), but he could catch up some, at least. "Yeah! Yeah, I can do that."

"Your _father_ already told you not to tell anyone else, right?" Chloe asked, interrupting the moment, and Adrien looked over to see her hovering awkwardly by the door. He had to do his best not to laugh at the barely-disguised venom in her voice. "Even your girlfriend?"

"Father told me that I _could_ tell Marinette, actually," Adrien told Chloe, not missing the way that his mom perked up at the mention of a girlfriend. _Great_. He and Mari were going to have to stage a mutual break-up sooner rather than later, before his mom go _too_ attached. Maybe they could claim that the stress from finding out that his father and Nathalie were supervillains wasn't great for a relationship and they were taking a break, then "decide" later on that they were better off as friends. "He said so specifically. I didn't even ask about it."

Chloe groaned and rolled her eyes. "Of _course_ he did. He actually likes Marinette."

"I want to meet her!" Mrs. Agreste said at once. "Adrien, could you come over with her after school tomorrow? Is she free? Are you free?"

"Uh- tomorrow is Tuesday, so normally Marinette and I do our homework together after school. We'll both be free," Adrien said, though he winced a little at the idea of giving up any of their homework time. He was back to having trouble getting any good work done on his homework at home, and he knew that Marinette tended to be pretty busy in the evenings, too, so she had to get her work finished before then.

Mrs. Agreste beamed. "That's great! You can work on your homework here, too," she added. "And we can chat while you do that. I'm just curious, and of course, I'm confined to this room until-" She caught herself, leaving her words hovering awkwardly in the air for a moment before finishing the sentence. "Until the investigation has finished."

"I'll ask," Adrien promised. "I'll tell her tomorrow. I know I can trust her," he added, more for Chloe's sake than his mom's. "She was the one that the Gorilla brought me to when Father and Nathalie were fighting a few days ago, and she didn't pry or tell anyone. She was just there when I needed someone to talk to."

His mom _awwed_. Chloe only looked unimpressed for a few seconds, then shrugged. "If you're sure, I guess."

"I'm positive."

Chloe headed back to her room after that, leaving Adrien with his mom. She ushered him over to the room's table, where a platter of petits fours rested. "Tell me everything! Chloe said that you're still doing fencing and basketball and Mandarin and piano, and that you've been doing more modeling, and that you started school- and a girlfriend!"

"That's a recent thing," Adrien admitted, hoping that he wouldn't have to make up any stories about dates that he and Marinette _hadn't_ been on. "_Really_ recent. Uh, like, less than a month recent?"

There was a flicker of concern across Mrs. Agreste's face at that. "And you already trust her to not tell...?"

"We were friends before that," Adrien hastily assured her. "We weren't that close for most of my first year because she was nervous around me-" and he never _had_ figured out what that had been about- "but then our friends started dating each other and we hung out more and got closer. And then this year, Marinette and I have got closer and started hanging out more." Adrien couldn't help but smile softly at the memories. They had started playing video games together, with Marinette teaching Adrien some of her moves so that they would be more evenly matched and so that they could absolutely _dominate_ with they played as a team. Sometimes he went over to her house on weekends and she taught him how to cook or bake (they were still _very_ much on the basics). She tagged along to a lot of his photoshoots, making them more fun and learning at the same time. Now they were doing homework together, getting it done faster than they would if they were apart. Adrien always enjoyed hanging out with her, no matter what they decided to do. "And then we decided to try dating."

"Oh, that's so sweet!"

Adrien told his mom about school after that, then about his increased modeling schedule and the commercials and voice acting that he had done. By the time he finished with that, Mrs. Agreste was clearly getting tired.

"I should go home now, I think," Adrien said once he finished the story of how he had had to take lessons for voice acting so that his character's voice stayed consistent. "I have a lot more stories, of course, but..."

"I've been getting tired easily," Mrs. Agreste admitted. "But yes! Tell your girlfriend and see if she can come over and then stay for dinner tomorrow."

"I will, Mom," Adrien told her, unable to keep the smile off of his face. It was so nice to be able to say that again, and he wasn't sure if he would ever be able to take it for granted again. "I will."

* * *

Adrien was glowing.

Marinette had to smile as her fake boyfriend bounced into her family's living room, a beam on his face. After well over a week of him being distracted and worried, the change was welcome.

She knew why he was so happy, of course. Adrien had been scheduled to see his mom again the previous night, and their reunion must have gone well. Marinette wondered how much she should ask, because as his friend (and fake girlfriend) she would be happy but curious about what had made him so happy, but as Ladybug, she knew that he wasn't allowed to tell anyone and so she didn't want to put him on the spot by asking.

As it turned out, she didn't even need to worry.

"I had a _fantastic_ evening yesterday," Adrien told her at once, shucking his shoes at the door and bounding over to hop up onto a stool. "Something really, really good happened. And Father told me that I could tell you, as long as you didn't tell anyone else."

"He did?" Marinette squeaked, not entirely sure what was surprising her more: the way that Adrien was volunteering the information when he was _supposed_ to keep it under wraps, the fact that _Mr. Agreste_ of all people, who most understood the importance of keeping his wife's recovery a secret, had told Adrien that he could share the news, or that Mr. Agreste had apparently mentioned _her_ specifically instead of, say, Nino.

Adrien nodded eagerly. "Yeah! He was telling me that I couldn't tell anyone for safety reasons, and then he decided that it would be safe for me to tell _you_, as long as you didn't tell anyone else." He glanced around the room as he finished talking, checking to make sure that it was empty. "Your parents are both downstairs, right?"

"Right. And I would never share someone's secret unless they wanted me to," Marinette promised. She frowned briefly. "I wonder why your father said it was all right for me to know, though."

"I figured that out, actually! Or at least I think I did." Adrien leaned forward to wrap Marinette up in a hug. "I'm sure he knew that I would have trouble not having someone to discuss it with, and he likes you. And he thinks that you're my girlfriend, too, which I'm sure helps." Adrien released Marinette and sat back, letting out a breath. "Okay. So. It's- my mom. She's back."

Thankfully, Marinette had managed to recover enough from the shock of _Mr. Agreste telling Adrien he could tell another person_ to be able to react properly. "_Really?_ That's great, Adrien! Is- is she back home now?"

Adrien's hair flew around his head as he shook it frantically. "No, she's at the Grand Paris, so Chloe knows, too. It's- uh, the investigation is still in progress, so the news can't get out at all. And that _includes_ our household staff."

Marinette nodded seriously. After all, she knew even better than Adrien how _disastrous_ it would be for certain members of the Agreste staff (well, one certain member in particular) to find out that Mrs. Agreste was awake and recovering. "Okay. I understand. But that's still so exciting!" she exclaimed, reaching out to give Adrien a hug. "So you got to see her yesterday evening?"

"Yeah, and I got to tell her about a bunch of the stuff that's been happening while she's been gone. But Chloe spilled the beans about me dating, so now she wants to meet you today after school. And you've been invited to dinner, too," Adrien added after a moment of thought, reaching over Marinette to snag a fresh croissant from the basket on her far side. "Can you come?"

"I'd love to!" Marinette assured him at once. "I'm eager to meet her."

It didn't take long for Marinette to finish her breakfast (or for Adrien to finish both the first and second croissants that he had grabbed), and then they headed to school together, hand in hand. Outwardly Marinette was smiling, but inside she was so, _so_ confused. Each new person who knew about Mrs. Agreste was a potential risk to her safety. Mr. Agreste did not seem the type of person to take risks needlessly- he hadn't started coming out of his lair until he was being pressured to by Mayura, with the sole exception of the times when he had taken the city off guard as Scarlet Moth. So for him to start taking risks _now_ seemed strange.

Strange enough that Marinette _really_ wanted to talk to Tikki.

"Oh, I forgot to use the bathroom before we left," Marinette fibbed as soon as they reached the locker room. "Mind if I make a stop before we go up to the classroom?"

"Go ahead. I'll just go on up. Want me to carry your bag?"

Marinette handed over her school bag, then headed for the bathrooms. A quick scan told her the bathroom was empty, so she headed for a stall so she could talk to Tikki.

"Adrien told me," she told Tikki in a hushed voice. "And his father told him to! Do you think that Mr. Agreste suspects...?"

"I think that for once, he actually considered Adrien and decided that he would benefit from having a support system," Tikki told her. "Which is true enough. But I do not think that you have been around Mr. Agreste enough- either as yourself or as Ladybug- for him to figure you out."

Marinette let out a considering breath. That...was true. It was just that it was weird that Mr. Agreste had picked her _specifically_ out of all of Adrien's friends as the person that he could tell. When she expressed that, though, Tikki shook her head.

"_Think_, Marinette! Mr. Agreste has never approved of Nino. When he met Alya, it was right after she had dragged Adrien into an akuma attack zone. You're the promising designer that makes smart, safe decisions- and now you're Adrien's girlfriend. I'm willing to bet that Adrien's bodyguard told Mr. Agreste where he took Adrien when Mr. Agreste and Nathalie were fighting, and that would factor into his decision, too."

"You think so?" Marinette looked to Tikki again. Her kwami only nodded. "_Still_. He's lucky that I am who I am and I already knew. I feel like a lot of people would be _really_ confused about the need for complete secrecy without getting the full story."

Tikki giggled. "Well, you know what they say about ladybugs and luck, Marinette! Maybe that helped us out a bit."

"Maybe." Marinette opened the stall door, heading across the bathroom to wash her hands at the sink. "No matter what, though, I'm glad that Adrien trusts me enough to trust me with something like this. It really means a lot."

"You two have become good friends," Tikki commented, watching as Marinette splashed in the water for a few more seconds. "Think about where the two of you were at this time last year! You've come so far."

"Yeah, last year I was so focused on asking Adrien out that I hadn't even _considered_ calming down and just becoming Adrien's friend. And look at all I was missing out on!" Smiling, Marinette turned the water off and turned to dry her hands. "C'mon, Tikki. Let's go upstairs. Adrien is waiting for us."

* * *

_a/n: Up next: More MiracuSquad and Adrinette being too cute :D_

_As always, reviews make my day!_


	18. Next Step

Ladybug was Lost. Lost with a _capital_ L. Maybe a capital rest of the letters, too.

The private school that Kagami went to wasn't _super _huge, but it was really, really confusing. Hallways twisted off in all directions, classrooms absolutely everywhere. There were two buildings, too, one for the collège section and the other for the lycée students, and Ladybug... well, she didn't know for _sure_ which one Kagami was in. She knew that Kagami was around her age, but exactly how _close_ was close? She could be a year older, for all Ladybug knew.

_Ugh_. And her teammates needed her back _soon_. If she couldn't find Kagami and somehow pull her aside within the next couple minutes, she would have to drop the idea for this fight and try again later, maybe after asking Adrien a few more questions about his fencing buddy. But would that even actually help?

"_Think_, Ladybug," she muttered to herself. "_Think_. You're going to have to pull her out of class anyway; they're still in session. You'll need an excuse anyway. If you can find a teacher, they can help."

She worried her lip for a moment, then nodded decisively. Sometimes she and Chat Noir ended up grabbing a civilian to help- usually to get inside information or move them out of the way of a targeted attack- and then returned them at the end of an attack. If she told a little white lie and claimed that she believed that Kagami might know something that would end the fight sooner, the principal and Kagami's teacher would hopefully let her step out.

And, well, it wouldn't _actually_ be a lie. Kagami knew how to fence, and Adrien had told Marinette that Kagami had been trained in several martial arts. Hopefully that knowledge would end the fight sooner.

"Ladybug? What are you doing here?"

Ladybug spun around to come face-to-face with a teacher. Immediately, she was really, _really_ thankful that she had come up with an excuse already. "Hi! I was wondering if you know where I might find Kagami Tsurugi?"

The teacher frowned. "Yes, but why? She's in class. Can it wait for lunch? It's only half an hour more."

"I think she might know something that would help us defeat the akuma faster," Ladybug told him. "And I would really appreciate it if I could pull her out for a bit. It's rather time-sensitive."

The teacher considered that, then sighed. "Okay. But only because it's you, Ladybug. I'll swing by her classroom and send her down here on my way back to the office."

"Thank you."

Ladybug watched the teacher leave, trying not to anxiously bounce in place as she watched the seconds tick by on the clock. She had to appear steadfast and reliable, after all, and _not_ like an anxious teenager.

She nearly jumped out of her skin when her yo-yo rang.

"Ladybug, are you coming soon?" Chat Noir asked anxiously. "The akuma is absolutely rampaging, and the Purple Lady is here already. Everyone is wondering where the superheroes are."

"I'm getting another person," Ladybug told him quickly. "Someone who will work _really_ well with the Dragon. It's just that I don't know their school well at all, and so I had to get a teacher to go get her. She'll be back soon. And then we'll fly over there."

Chat Noir frowned. "Wait, you know them well enough to give them a Miraculous, but don't know their school at all? Do they not talk about it ever or something?"

Ladybug cringed. "It's- no, she's someone that I don't necessarily get along with great in our civilian lives but I think she would be great against the Purple Lady. She has years of fight training. But I'll be sure to get her civilian phone number or something in case I need to get hold of her in the future."

"Okay, I'll trust your judgment, but seriously- we're going to be found if we stay hidden much longer."

"I know, I know, I'm sorry- here she comes, I'll grab her and be on the way as fast as we can possibly go. I promise." Ladybug ended the call with a wince- she _really_ wished that she had had the chance to scope out Kagami's school before, but she had been a _bit_ busy- and straightened up. "Kagami! I'm glad you could come down."

"Of course. But I am a bit confused- I'm _very_ certain that I don't know the akuma." There was a small frown on Kagami's face. "I mean, I'm willing to help in any way that I can, of course, but..."

"I'm glad to hear that. I'll explain on the way." Ladybug held out a hand, and Kagami took it without hesitation. With a quick toss of her yo-yo, she hauled them out of the courtyard and onto the rooftop of a nearby building. Two more swings, and Ladybug figured that they were far enough away that no one would see her transforming and figure out that it was Kagami.

"I might have misled your teacher a little bit," Ladybug admitted, setting Kagami down and pulling out the Dragon Miraculous. "The help I need isn't exactly information... and the knowledge you have, well..." She held out the Miraculous. "I've heard that you know a lot about fighting."

Kagami's jaw dropped. "You- you want me to fight alongside you and Chat Noir and the other superheroes?"

"Right. You would just be borrowing the Miraculous for the fight, like the other temporary superheroes. So- will you?"

Kagami nodded eagerly, taking the Miraculous and then nearly dropping it when Longg appeared. "What- what is _that?_"

"This is Longg," Ladybug told her. "She's a kwami. It's what grants us our powers. You just put the Miraculous on and say _transform me_."

"I feel like I should be asking more questions," Kagami said nervously as she pulled the Dragon Miraculous on. "But it seems like you're in a hurry and I suppose you can explain along the way, so... _transform me!_"

Longg grinned and shot into the Miraculous. In a rush of red and gold, Kagami transformed. Once the sparkles died down, she glanced down at herself, running her hands down the suit as though inspecting it. Ladybug waited anxiously, glancing over in the direction she knew her other teammates were before looking back at the transformed Kagami. After another long second, she looked up, a hint of a smile on her face. Ladybug raised an eyebrow at her.

"Acceptable?"

"Oh, very." Dragoness smiled, patting the holster at the side. "I like the sword."

* * *

Ladybug was right: Kagami with the Dragon Miraculous was a _fantastic_ choice. Against the Purple Lady, her sword blurred, slashes and stabs interrupted by kicks and punches. She and Chat Noir traded off taking the lead, one in direct combat while the other tried to circle around and get the drop on the Purple Lady, keeping out of the splatter zone but staying close enough that they could dive in to take an opening if one turned up or provide backup if necessary.

Even after only a few minutes together, Dragoness and Chat Noir were fighting side-by-side like a seasoned team, keeping out of the other's way like pros.

That left Ladybug and the three other temporary users to deal with the akuma. And while the Purple Lady was making them stronger than Hawkmoth had, four of them were enough of a match for the akuma. One Lucky Charm (a bandana), one Sting, and one Illusion later, and the purified butterfly was fluttering away through the sky. The Purple Lady threw Dragoness back and took off after it, vanishing from sight quickly as she retreated back to her lair.

And they still had some time left in the lunch period.

"Okay, I had some concerns about you taking the time to track down a new Miraculous user at the start of the fight, but it was time well spent," Chat Noir murmured in Ladybug's ear as the team paused for a quick celebratory fist-bump. "Holy crud, she is _fierce._ Nathalie is heartless when she fights, but Dragoness? She can match that. Like, I would _not_ be surprised if she could fight toe-to-toe with the Purple Lady on her own with only a little backup."

Ladybug grinned proudly. She had had some hesitations about picking Kagami when she first came up with the idea, but logic won out over her personal feelings and it _really_ paid off. "Yeah. She's a _much_ better swordfighter than I am. But I prefer my yo-yo anyway, I think."

"It's more versatile. Kind of like my baton, really. It's a jack-of-all-trades weapon- good at a lot of things, but not a master at any one." Chat Noir tapped it. "I know how to fence, which is like swordfighting. But it's not weighted the same way, and it doesn't have a hand guard, so I can't do _quite_ everything with it that I could with my fencing sword. But Dragoness's sword can't extend like my baton, or be sun and used as a shield, or anything like that." He grinned. "But it's _very_ good for swordfighting. And clearly she knows how to use it."

"Okay, I'm beeping!" Queen Bee called. "I assume that I have to give my Miraculous back now?"

"Right, right, we're coming!" Chat Noir bounced away from Ladybug, headed for Chloe. "We have so many temps now that it's going to be a pain in the butt getting everything back."

"We can just go down to street level to detransform," Carapace offered. "Rena and I know our way around in this area."

Ladybug let out a relieved sigh. "Oh, thank _goodness_. I'll be right back," she told Dragoness. "Two minutes, tops."

"Wait, what about _your_ timer?" Rena Rouge asked as the three of them jumped down to a hidden alleyway. "You used Lucky Charm at _least_ four minutes ago, but your earrings haven't changed at all!"

"Chat Noir and I learned a spell to delay the detransformation," Ladybug admitted. "It's hard on the kwamis, though, so we won't share it until we have to."

Rena Rouge frowned at that, opening her mouth as though to protest, but Carapace nodded in understanding. "Fair enough."

Soon Ladybug had the Fox and Turtle back, and she headed back to the rooftops to join Dragoness. They ran across the rooftops back towards Kagami's school, stopping one rooftop away.

"So I'm going to assume that I should detransform here, and you'll return me to the school?" Dragoness asked. "And then we hope that no one puts the pieces together?"

"Ideally, yeah," Ladybug agreed. "And the magic should help with that. But to detransform, all you need to say is-"

"Let me guess, _detransform me?_"

The flash of red was all the answer she needed. Kagami smiled as Longg reappeared. "Thank you for the sword! It was the best-balanced one I've handled in a while."

Longg snickered. "Of course, because it's magic! I look forward to working with you again."

"Can I get your phone number?" Ladybug asked as Kagami returned the Miraculous to its box and handed it over. "I'd rather not have to flag down a teacher again next time there's an akuma."

"Of course, but I cannot skip classes often. I've seen how frequent akuma attacks can be." Kagami was looking worried. "The school will tell my mother, and she will be less than pleased with me."

Ladybug shook her head as she handed Kagami her yo-yo, open to the _Create Contact_ page. "The Purple Lady isn't going to be coming out as much. She's pickier about her akumas. And- please don't tell anyone this, we don't want it getting out- we _do_ know who she is. We're working on a plan to defeat her. We would only call you out for a couple more akuma attacks, probably, plus the final battle."

Kagami nodded, the concerned expression on her face spreading back out into her usual indifference as she punched in her phone number. "Acceptable. I will not tell anyone about the Purple Lady. Now, about my lunch period..."

It didn't take long at all for Ladybug to swing Kagami back down to her school, waving good-bye before shooting back across town, making a short detour to give Master Fu his Miraculous back before tumbling into her bedroom and detransforming.

"Kagami was a really good choice!" Tikki said happily, zipping around Marinette's head. "That fight wasn't that bad at all! You still have time to eat."

"I need to text Adrien and see if he's coming over for lunch still," Marinette said, pushing herself off of her bed and heading down the stairs. "I invited him, like usual, and then I vanished for-" she checked the clock and winced- "an hour."

"Well, at least it wasn't three hours, right?"

Much to Marinette's surprise, Adrien had texted her already, apologizing for getting called away for the first part of their lunch hour and wondering if her invitation still stood. She didn't hesitate to assure him that he should come over- after all, her mom had prepared enough food for both of them and Marinette certainly couldn't eat all of it by herself- and that he could just let himself in downstairs.

"Don't forget, you're having dinner with Adrien's mom tonight!" Tikki reminded her. "So you should tell your parents."

"Ooh, you're right! I'll text Maman about it right away. Though how should I word it..." Marinette tilted her head, staring at her phone as she went over words in her head. She didn't want her parents to think that she was at the mansion when she was actually at the Grand Paris, but how to word that? After a minute of thought, she tapped out a quick message and sent it.

_Marinette: I've been invited to have dinner with Adrien's family over at the Grand Paris tonight. Adrien and I will probably go right over after school and work on our homework there until dinner._

Barely a minute later, her phone _ding_ed in reply.

_Maman: Okay! Have fun! Adrien is on his way up now._

Right on cue, there was a knock at the door and then Adrien stuck his head around it, looking a bit flustered. "I'm sorry I'm so late- you weren't waiting for me to eat, were you?"

"It's fine," Marinette assured him. "I was running late, too. So wash your hands and sit down, and _maybe_ we won't have to rush to finish before we go back."

* * *

"So my mom's pretty weak right now," Adrien told Marinette as they got in the car to go to the Grand Paris. "She's getting better, of course, since she's getting rest and food and- and everything, but she might hang out for us for a bit and then need a nap before dinner."

"Right, of course," Marinette said at once, as wonderfully understanding as always. "We won't be able to talk a _ton_ while we do homework, so hopefully we won't exhaust her."

Adrien nodded. That was true, and he _had_ caught his mom up on most of what he had been up to over the past year and a half (Well. Year and three-quarters, more like) the previous evening. He and Marinette could just chat like usual, talking about the going-ons of the day, and maybe what was going to happen during the last three days of school before break. His mom would probably appreciate that, with them treating the get-together like a _normal_ evening instead of a 'catch-mom-up-because-she's-been-in-a-coma-that-Adrien-isn't-supposed-to-know-about-yet' evening.

"Chloe might pop in, too," Adrien commented after a few more minutes. They were nearly at the Grand Paris. "She _loves_ my mom. Part of it is because _her_ mom is, well..."

"Not particularly loving?" Marinette suggested. Adrien cringed and nodded.

"_Yeah_. To say the least. But my mom was also a model, and she's done some acting, and of course she's dabbled in designing, too, so, well..." He shot a sheepish look over at Marinette. For him, having famous parents had just been a fact of life for so long that he had been used to it. Now that he had spent time with classmates who had _normal_ parents (and gosh, that word had _so_ many layers to it now), he was a bit self-conscious of it. "There have been times when I wondered if Chloe just liked the glitz and glamour around my mom. But she was _really_ happy when she was found- like, practically in tears."

He just barely caught the tail end of the puzzled look Marinette shot in his direction, and Adrien had to wonder what she was confused about. Maybe she just couldn't picture Chloe actually crying in happiness?

The Gorilla pulled up to the front, and Adrien didn't hesitate to hop out and jog around to the other side to open Marinette's door for her. The gesture didn't go missed by the Gorilla, who nodded approvingly, or by Marinette, who gave him a bright smile as she slid out of the car, pulling their bags out after her.

...oops. Apparently he had forgotten his things in his hurry to get out of the car.

"So she's on the top floor, where Chloe and her father live," Adrien told Marinette as they headed in. "In the suite that Chloe's mom stays in, when she actually comes to Paris. Which is nice, because it's a _huge_ room- well, two connected rooms, technically- with a kitchenette and a whirlpool tub and a nice table and _everything_. It's more of an apartment than a hotel room."

"If she's going to be in there for more than a day, that's _really_ nice," Marinette said approvingly. "And those rooms have balconies, though I suppose she can't go out on it."

Adrien made a face. "Yeah. But the weather's a bit cold for hanging out on the balcony anyway, so I'm sure she doesn't mind _that_ much. There's a lovely view, though, even just from the windows."

"Will she get to go home by Christmas, do you know?"

Adrien paused, frowning as he thought about it. They were only a week or so out from Christmas, and he was sure that Ladybug had things that she wanted to get done in her civilian life before the holidays. _He_ certainly did- he and Marinette needed to finish up their group project (thank goodness they had gotten a good bit done before things got crazy- there were just some final details to polish up) and then he was going to help Marinette pull off their class's holiday party, since Alya was apparently _still _distracted. But they didn't want an akuma striking on Christmas (and _especially_ if he could spend that time with his mom), so maybe they would push to try to end things before the holidays.

It would be the superheroes' Christmas present to Paris. _If_ they could manage it.

"I don't know," Adrien said instead of explaining all of that. "It depends on the, uh, investigation. I'd love for her to be able to come home, of course, but as long as I can come see her, does it really matter where?"

Marinette smiled. "I suppose not."

It didn't take long for the elevator to haul them up to the top floor, and then Adrien couldn't help but speed up as he headed for his mom's door. He knocked, using the same special pattern that his mom had always used before her disappearance, and only seconds later there were footsteps on the other side and Mrs. Agreste threw the door open, wrapping Adrien up in a hug just as tightly as she had the night before. The familiar smell of his mom's perfume filled his nose, and he beamed.

Chloe must have gone out and bought his mom's favorite perfume for her so that she would feel more comfortable. That was really, _really_ nice of her.

(She might have actually just sent her butler or one of the other hotel staff to actually buy the perfume, but, well, the thought was there either way.)

"And this must be your girlfriend!" Mrs. Agreste exclaimed, pulling away from Adrien and beaming at Marinette. "I'm Adrien's mom, which... well, I'm sure you already knew that." She smiled, looking a little awkward. "And he's told you not to mention my return to anyone, right?"

Marinette nodded, beaming. "Right! My lips are sealed."

"Lovely." Stepping back, Mrs. Agreste ushered them into the room. "Adrien said that you two usually do homework together after school. Are they giving you a lot, with the holidays so close?"

"It's mostly studying," Adrien told her. "We have tests today and tomorrow, and projects due. Friday is mostly just going to be relaxing. And a party in our homeroom and- Marinette, how is that going to work? Are we doing cookies and cake and chips first thing in the morning?"

"We'll be doing activities in homeroom- making the decorations and putting them up, mostly, and getting all of the food in and checked off to make sure that nothing was forgotten," Marinette reminded him. "If something like silverware or plates or a ladle for the punch was forgotten, I would get it over lunch. Then we'll get out from gym early so that we can go back and set up so that everything is ready when the rest of the class comes in. And then we feast until we make ourselves sick."

"_Some_ of us have self-control around excessive amounts of food," Adrien teased. Marinette laughed.

"Surely you're not talking about yourself, Mr. Was-Groaning-In-His-Seat-Last-Year?"

Adrien spluttered. "I- no- okay, that was extenuating circumstances! The first school holiday party I had ever had, you can't _really_ blame me for maybe overdoing it a _little_ bit-"

His mom was laughing. "Darling, you overdo it at the company holiday party every year. You just love your sweets."

"Betrayed by my own mother," Adrien groaned dramatically, flopping into a chair. "Marinette didn't _need_ to know that."

"He takes after me," his mom told Marinette. "Being dramatic runs in the family."

Adrien tried and failed to hide his grin. "I'm not _dramatic_."

"Sure you aren't, darling." His mom patted his head. "Just like you aren't draped over that seat like a limp piece of lettuce."

Marinette laughed. "He really is."

"Betrayed by mom _and_ girlfriend," Adrien grumbled, straightening himself up. "Fantastic."

"And now you're pouting," Marinette said with a laugh. "But sure, you're not dramatic at all."

Adrien couldn't even try to pretend that he was actually upset. He remembered the banter that he and his mom had had before her disappearance, and he had forgotten just how much he missed it. The good-natured teasing was all in good fun, and while he had managed to create a similar dynamic with his new friends (and Ladybug, when they weren't fighting for their lives), there just wasn't _nearly_ as much history there to drawn on.

So instead of protesting, he _very_ smoothly changed the subject.

"I thought we were doing homework," Adrien said, righting himself and starting to pull notebooks out of his bag. He spotted Plagg in the bottom, looking bored. "We have a long sheet for Lit for review. And then Mendeleev gave us a _huge_ review packet, as though we didn't already have enough to do with the group project."

"Group projects right before the holidays? That's no fun!" Mrs. Agreste looked appalled. "And everyone is so busy now- how are you meant to find the time to get together?"

"Well, it's more of a partner project than a _group_ project," Marinette chimed in, settling into the seat next to Adrien. There was still a hint of laughter in her voice. "And so it's a bit easier to find times to get together. And since Adrien and I study together anyway, it's really easy. We're almost done." She grinned over at him. "Actually, why don't we finish that first? Then we can do a practice run-through of our presentation."

Adrien perked up. Oh, his mom would absolutely _love_ that. "Yeah! Yeah, let's do that. Hang on, I'll grab my tablet, and I'll pull up the presentation we've made. You've got the notecards, right?"

"Right!"

As Adrien dug in his bag and got set up, he could see his mom settling down on the sofa, beaming as she watched the two of them interact, he couldn't help but smile. Last year, he had dreaded Christmas, his first Christmas without his mom.

This year, he was feeling the holiday spirit.

* * *

Marinette had just gotten home from her dinner with Adrien and his mom when she received an urgent text from Master Fu: Ladybug was needed at his place as soon as possible.

It was a good thing that she had already said good-night to her parents. Sighing, Marinette called for Tikki and headed over, wondering what Master Fu could possibly need at this time at night. She ran into Chat Noir partway there. Her partner held up one clawed hand, showing off the Peacock Miraculous.

It looked _sickly_. It was a piece of jewelry, sure, but the colors were off and the fan seemed a little wilted. Ladybug's heart went out to Duusu, because the poor kwami had been trapped for so long, forced to keep transforming again and again.

"Master Fu just contacted me maybe five minutes ago," Chat Noir told Ladybug. "He had sent a kwami over to watch Mr. Agreste and look for an opportunity to get the Peacock so we could take the curse off. Nathalie went home for the night half an hour ago, so I could go to his home office and get it from him."

Ladybug grinned. They hadn't been sure that they would get an opportunity to get another thing checked off their list of stuff to do to get the Purple Lady taken down for good so _soon_. "Great! Let's get this thing to Master Fu. Hopefully he can figure out which spell was used tonight."

Chat Noir winced. "Yeah. I get the feeling that Nathalie might normally stay later. It's just that she probably got _really_ worn out with the battle and fighting Dragoness today, so she had to go to bed early."

"_I_ want to go to bed early," Ladybug grumbled as they wove through the streets. She made sure to glance around to make sure that they weren't being tailed. "But no such luck."

"Let me guess- once this is over, you're taking the world's longest nap?"

"After I get caught up on everything that I've been neglecting in my civilian life, at least."

Master Fu was waiting for them when they slipped it. He held out a hand for the Miraculous right away, and his expression changed to concern as soon as he spotted it.

"Oh, Duusu must be _exhausted_," he said sympathetically, patting the Miraculous. "It's a good thing that I bought a whole pile of fruit in preparation for this. Wayzz has been assisting me in making it into a nest of sorts so that Duusu can recharge while we work on the curse. Follow me."

Ladybug's jaw _dropped_ when she rounded the corner and saw- just like Master Fu had said- a nest of fruit, a whole large _pile_ of different types.

"He will only be able to absorb all of this if we keep him overnight and return him in the morning. Which will mean a _very_ early morning for you two."

Ladybug groaned loudly. An early morning, after what was looking to likely be a long night? No thank you. But she had gotten used to functioning on minimal sleep as Ladybug, so she could muddle through the day and all of the test review. Maybe she would take a nap during lunch.

It would be really, _really_ nice if her civilian life could just be put on hold when she had superhero stuff to deal with, but the world just didn't work like that.

"I won't keep you up all night," Master Fu told them as he placed the Peacock among the fruit. It immediately started to glow, the banana closest to it slowly starting to erode away. Ladybug stared at it, fascinated. "There's a spell to cut off the connection between Nathalie and the Peacock, so she won't be able to use it even if she _wanted_ to. We'll start with that. And then I'll start running tests to figure out which curse was used. Looking at it- feeling the Miraculous- I'd say it's one of three possibilities, with one standing out as the strongest option."

Ladybug nodded. So they might be returning the Peacock with Duusu out. But.. "The Miraculous will look different."

"It'll be up to Mr. Agreste to hide that." Master Fu nudged a kiwi closer. It started vanishing, skin and all. "And then we'll reclaim it before our final battle. Mr. Agreste will _not_ be wielding it. Now, if you can pass me that pot right over there- yes, that one-"

Ladybug and Chat Noir watched as Master Fu chanted over the Miraculous, with Wayzz flying around and lighting candles. They burned bright and _blue_, flickering in a nonexistent wind. Wayzz turned the overhead lights off, and they could all see the blue glow surrounding the Miraculous and creating a circle around it.

It was equal parts eerie and beautiful.

"So there should just be the one connection to this now," Master Fu said, passing his hand over the Miraculous once he finished the spell. "Just Nathalie. But it never hurts to check. I'll just sprinkle this herb over the Miraculous, like so-"

Ladybug frowned as she watched. "Jade Turtle, I see two connection- no, wait, _three_."

Master Fu was frowning as well. "So there are. _That_ is unexpected."

"Three, and the severed one," Chat Noir chimed in. He pointed to the droopy bit of cut magic. "So there's two other people with the connection. Do you think we could ask Mrs. Agreste if she knows who else might have used the Peacock? Maybe there were several people passing it off, so that they wouldn't overexert themselves?"

Ladybug gasped and clapped her hands together as a memory came to mind. "I know one of them! Remember, Chat, when we were talking to Hawkmoth? He said that he had used the Peacock a few times!"

"Right, he used Heart!" Chat Noir remembered. "Good memory, my Lady. So that's another connection we have to break."

"His connection must be this thin one, then. It looks like someone _tried_ to renounce the connection, but they couldn't fully do it." Jade Turtle ran his fingers along the swirling string of magic. "Probably because of Duusu's condition. And judging by the wear- he tried to renounce Duusu recently. My guess is when Nathalie took his Miraculous and he consciously made the decision to reject the Peacock." He pulled his finger back. "Unfortunate. We have to remove all of the bonds to remove the curse and for him to be able to use the Miraculous again, we would have to reinstate the bond _with_ him present, which…well, it would be difficult. I'll sleep on that problem and try to come up with a solution for that tomorrow. But for now, let's keep on going and cut _all_ of the connections."

"More chanting?"

Master Fu laughed. "Yes, but I'll have to do this while transformed. Wayzz?"

Ladybug smothered a yawn as Jade Turtle started up his chanting again, eyes trained on the Peacock. It had been a long day- starting with Adrien's news first thing in the morning, then the fight at lunch, and the excitement of meeting Adrien's mom as her _civilian_ self and having dinner together while staying focused so that she wouldn't let anything slip that she wasn't meant to know. All of that had followed the excitement of getting Mrs. Agreste awakened and then moved, so _really_ no one could blame her for being a little tired. She leaned into Chat Noir's side as she watched the candle flames dance, the first of the Peacock's connections snapping and dissolving into sparkling dust before Jade Turtle started up again. It looked like he had it under control, so she wondered why he was having her and Chat Noir stay. Maybe it was meant to be educational, but couldn't it be educational _earlier_ in the day? Maybe not if Nathalie had only just left, but _still_…

Ladybug yawned another time, eyes squeezing shut. Surely Master Fu wouldn't mind if she rested her eyes just a little bit before he started testing the curse. Just for a short while.

_Really_.

* * *

_a/n: Poor tired Bug, she's been working so hard. At least there's a new team member to help out!_

_This was written after the character design spoilers were released but before the episode, thus the different name for Kagami's Dragon form. LET THE SWORD GIRL USE HER SWORD._

_As always, reviews make my day! :)_


	19. The Past Peafowl

"I still can't believe you fell asleep."

"Oh, shush you," Ladybug muttered, cheeks flaming red as she landed on a still-dark rooftop, hastily muffling another yawn as she did. Something told her that Chat Noir would never stop teasing her if he spotted it. Not that he _wasn't_ already teasing her. "The lights were off and Master Fu's chanting was like one of those soundtracks people use to relax."

"And yet you were standing up. _Were_, of course, being the operative word."

Ladybug pouted. Her partner giggled.

So what if she had maybe been a little tired the previous night and ended up falling asleep on Chat Noir? So what if he had had to scoop her up to keep her from hitting the floor and had ended up holding her until Master Fu needed her to wake up and produce a Lucky Charm for part of the cure for the curse before sending her and Chat Noir on their way for the night? It was just something that happened sometimes.

Ladybug really, _really_ hoped that they could wrap this whole thing up during break. Then she could relax and _sleep_ and catch up on everything she had pushed aside before school started up again. If she could manage that, she _wouldn't_ be falling asleep at weird times.

She also wouldn't be getting up before sunrise to run superhero errands, like she was doing now. As much as she enjoyed being Ladybug, there were _definitely_ some parts that she could do without.

It didn't take long to reach Master Fu's apartment. Ladybug only ran into the side of a building once (because the sun that was barely peeking over the horizon was _in her eyes, Chat_), and she was still muffling yawns as their mentor ushered them in through the window at the back of his apartment, looking cheerful. They followed him towards the front, where his shop was, then came to an abrupt halt when they came face-to-face with a _very_ blue, very sparkly kwami blearily floating through the hallway, bumping into the walls as it went.

"Duusu is free!" Chat Noir exclaimed, delighted. Then he frowned, taking a closer look at the kwami. "...but I take it that he's not _quite_ back to normal yet."

"Correct on both counts," Master Fu said cheerfully. "The potion was successful, the curse was broken, and Duusu has been freed. We're working on recovery at the moment. It's a slow process, considering how long his Miraculous has been cursed and how heavily it had been used, but I hope to have him at least a _bit_ more responsive by this evening."

"Is that more of the same potion that we gave to my- to Mrs. Agreste?" Chat Noir asked, leaning closer to inspect the sparkle on the almost zombie-like kwami. "Her skin looked sparkly like that after we gave her the potion."

Master Fu sighed. "Yes, it is. We ran out of fruit partway through the night and I had some of that potion left over, so I gave it to Duusu to help him recover faster. Any energy is good energy at the moment, though of course other foods won't give him _quite_ as much of a boost as fruit will. I will be monitoring him closely until he is more stable again."

Ladybug nodded, frowning at Duusu. She wasn't used to seeing a kwami look so _listless_, and it was _really_ disturbing. There was an empty look to his eyes that was giving her the creeps.

Chat Noir frowned. "So... are we _not_ returning the Miraculous to Mr. Agreste so that he can fool Mayura in case she orders him to transform and help her? I thought that was the plan last night."

"It was, and we are not. I would have to fix the bond in his presence, which would be difficult to do with him under such close supervision, and dangerous still for him to know who I am." Master Fu snagged Duusu out of the air and placed him on his shoulder, headed for the kitchen as he spoke. "I had planned on it, of course. I thought it would be our only option going forward. But when I contacted Mr. Agreste early this morning- _yes_, Ladybug, earlier than this, some people naturally rise before the sun- he told me that he had started the process of getting a fake Miraculous made back when his wife started getting better, because he had a feeling that it would come in handy. He sent me a picture of the pin that he has now. It's been molded and painted, then chemically treated to look as though it burned out and cracked from magical overuse. It's _very_ convincing. He just forgot to mention it last night."

Ladybug blinked, impressed. She had wanted to suggest something similar, actually, but she hadn't thought that they would have the time or the resources to get something like that made.

"He's pleased to hear that we have Duusu freed, though, and he's ordered _quite_ a large fruit basket to be sent," Master Fu told them. "And will be submitting a grocery order to be delivered here later this afternoon- well, not _here_, neither of them will be since I have no intention of giving him my address, but to a friend of mine who will then deliver it to me. We'll be positively _drowning_ in fruit, but I'm sure Duusu will polish it off fast enough. He has _quite_ a lot of energy to replenish."

The two superheroes nodded. Ladybug could relate. _She_ had a lot of lost sleep to catch up on, which wasn't the same but was similar. Probably. Maybe.

"Did you get to ask Mr. Agreste about the third bond?" Ladybug asked, pushing past the fog in her mind to try to focus on the situation at hand instead of her warm, cozy bed. It was calling to her, but she had to ignore it. "Or did you not get the chance?"

Master Fu frowned. "I didn't get the chance. Madam Sancoeur arrived and he had to hang up. So we'll need to go to Mrs. Agreste and ask her. She might be more likely to know, actually. She clearly told her husband as little as possible about that part of her life."

Ladybug nodded. She couldn't blame Mrs. Agreste for that- Mr. Agreste seemed like the type of person to use information to try to control a situation, and he no doubt hadn't been entirely supportive of his wife's superhero activities because of the effects that the Miraculous had had on her. Previous Peacocks could be approached for more information than Mrs. Agreste was willing to share, either using an angle of the concerned husband or via monetary bribes.

Still, if Mrs. Agreste _had _gotten her Miraculous directly from the previous user, there was absolutely no _way _that Mr. Agreste or Ms. Sancoeur _hadn't_ figured out who it was. They had the resources to figure it out, either with Nathalie doing the research herself or by hiring a private detective to figure it out. While it was important to keep information about the Miraculous under wraps, Ladybug was sure that there were detectives that would be willing to keep the secret, given the right incentive.

As a very, _very_ successful fashion designer, Mr. Agreste had _plenty_ of good incentive at his fingertips, and he was clearly more than willing to go to any lengths to protect his wife.

...Ladybug had been about to say _any lengths to protect his __**family**_, but she remembered all too well the number of times that Adrien had been in danger because of an attack- and even the number of times when he had been the one that the akuma was after- and yeah, _clearly_ Mr. Agreste had no problem with his son being in danger if it might bring him one step closer to his goal.

Father of the Year he most certainly was _not_. If Adrien wanted to get in line after Chloe to punch his father, she certainly wasn't going to stop him. In fact, she would be his cheering squad.

"So what's the next step?" Chat Noir wanted to know, breaking Ladybug out of her (minorly violent) thoughts. "Besides visiting Mrs. Agreste, that is?"

Master Fu laughed. "That's all you two need to worry about at the moment. She will be the key to finding out who else we have to cure. After that- well, once Duusu gets better, we'll have to find a temporary holder, in order to cure the effects of Heart on Mr. Agreste and Ms. Sancoeur. But that will be later on."

Ladybug muffled another yawn. The siren song from her bed was getting progressively louder, and she couldn't ignore it any longer. "Sounds good. Uh, so is there anything else, or are we free to go?"

"That's it!" Master Fu said cheerfully. He was clearly hiding a smile as he set Duusu down on the counter and leaned over to the fridge, pulling out a handful of tomatoes and handing it to the kwami, who grabbed the largest one and ate it in a single bite, jaw practically unhinging to get it in. "I would have texted you- that _is_ the right term, correct?- so that you didn't need to wake up and come over, but I only heard from Mr. Agreste _right_ before you arrived."

"Thank you, Master Fu," Chat Noir told him, taking Ladybug by the arm and steering her back towards the back entrance. "We'll go by Mrs. Agreste's room this afternoon, after school lets out."

"Oh! Before I forget-" Master Fu hurried across the kitchen to pick up a bag sitting further down the counter. "More potions for Mrs. Agreste. She'll be getting her energy back naturally now, but she _has_ still lost some muscle tone and still needs a bit of a boost to shake off the effects of the coma. I put in a note for her telling her how to take the potions. Just give her the entire bag."

"Of course."

Minutes later, the superheroes were slipping back out the window and onto the street, taking advantage of the light traffic so early in the morning to slip out without a problem. Ladybug groaned when she spotted the sun barely peeking over the horizon, only slightly higher than it had been when they came in.

"It is _still_ too early to be up," she groaned, pressing her face into her hands. "I am going _straight_ back to bed. I didn't even change out of my pajamas before I transformed, so I don't have to bother with changing back."

"And obviously your pajamas are cat-patterned, am I right?" Chat Noir teased. "Or black and green?"

"No, but I've got a cat pillow," Ladybug said around a yawn. "Which is currently calling my name. Good-night."

With that, Ladybug wasted no time in hauling herself up and away, leaving her spluttering partner on the rooftop.

"Wait, Ladybug! Do you actually have a cat pillow, or were you kidding? _Ladybug!_"

* * *

Adrien honestly couldn't wait until school let out for the holidays. It felt strange to be going to school just like normal when he had superhero business to take care of, and he would _much_ prefer to be actually getting _that_ finished up instead of sitting through exams and working on endless packets.

At least there were only a couple more days. Today and tomorrow, and then a day of fun and his and Marinette's class party. Then he would be free to run around the city, getting done what needed to be done without other things getting in the way.

"Are you doing holiday dates with Marinette?" Nino asked as he and Adrien waited for Ms. Bustier to hand out exams. "You must be, right? It's _absolutely_ the best time of the year for that, since there's so much to do. There's a Christmas market across the river near Notre Dame, and there's a stall there- well, I _hope_ they'll come back, at least, they've been there for the past couple years- and they make the _most_ amazing spiced hot chocolate. Alya and I went there on a date last year."

Even though going out on dates- or _one_ date, rather- meant time taken away from wrapping up the fight with Nathalie, Adrien couldn't help but smile at the idea. His father hadn't let him go out to the festivals last year, and it was something that he _really_ wanted to do. It would be a nice break, and he would enjoy getting to spend a bit more time with Marinette. Even though their relationship was fake, it was a _lot_ of fun.

"Have you heard that they're considering cancelling that?" Alya asked, leaning over her desk and sticking her head between the two of them before Adrien could answer. "Because of the Purple Lady. Some officials think that it would be too dangerous, because then there's a ton of people congregated in a small area with not many exits and she's _super_ dangerous. But everybody loves it, so some people might get upset and akumatized _because_ it was canceled, so there's no easy answer."

Adrien slumped, discouraged. Maybe Nino had only _just_ mentioned the market, but he had already started getting excited about it. "Oh." Then he perked up, because _he_ had some inside information that the rest of Paris _didn't_ have. Ladybug and Chat Noir knew who the Purple Lady was, and they were working towards wrapping the whole mess up. With Duusu freed and starting the recovery process, they were one step closer to achieving that. "What if the fight ends before then? What if they take the Purple Lady down before Christmas?"

Nino looked supremely dubious. "You really think they're going to manage it between now and next week? The market is meant to be Wednesday and Thursday. That's... a week."

"Well, they _do_ have Dragoness now," Alya pointed out. "Have you seen the footage? First day as a superhero and they threw her up against the Purple Lady. And she kicked _butt."_

"Okay, I guess that's fair."

"She _must_ have had a _serious_ amount of training before," Alya continued. "And it really, really showed. I wish _I_ could be that kickass, but it would probably take more dedication than I would be willing to give."

Adrien nodded. He had, of course, gotten a front-row seat to how _impressive_ Dragoness was, and the level of training- and cross-training- there was _incredible_. There was some fencing there for sure- a _lot_ of fencing, just as much as he had if not more- and karate, and judo, and probably some other stuff, too. He had to wonder how Ladybug knew her. Or knew _of_ her, since Ladybug had admitted that she and Dragoness's civilian selves didn't exactly get along.

(He could kind of understand why- Ladybug seemed like an open, friendly person, whereas Dragoness seemed laser-focused and a little shut off. There was a reason why she was more effective with the sword than Ladybug was, and it was because she was willing to go in for the harder blows, the ones that could do some real harm, whereas Ladybug tended to have a lot of compassion even for her enemies. Those kinds of personalities... well, they could clash pretty easily.)

"And with all of the superheroes, that last fight was fast and pretty contained," Marinette chimed in. "If they can do that again, then it shouldn't be dangerous, right?"

"The Purple Lady is pretty unpredictable, though," Nino pointed out. "She's not Hawkmoth. He just did the same thing over and over and over, until he didn't. I'd bet that she had something to do with even that. And so far, we've only seen two of her akumas. One battle was super hard, the other went well enough once the superheroes finally showed up- those aren't great odds. And while Dragoness fought _really_ well, she and Chat Noir _still_ couldn't take the Purple Lady down. If they tried getting any of the other users to try to help- I don't think that it would work. No one else would be able to get in to fight next to them without getting in their way. _And_ there's still Mayura to worry about, even if she hasn't sent out any monsters for the past couple fights."

Adrien tried not to frown. That was rather unfair to his and Ladybug's superhero team, he thought. With six of them- and their latest teammate being a _seriously_ good fighter- they weren't going to get taken off guard like they had with their first fight with the Purple Lady. And with the Dragon assigned and her contact information programmed into Ladybug's yo-yo, it wouldn't take Ladybug so long to get her next time. The Purple Lady's element of surprise had worn off. The next time, the superheroes would strike back _fast_.

Well, as long as she could refrain from akumatizing anyone during their final days of school. Adrien would rather not have to reveal his identity to his teachers to keep himself from failing the semester because he had to leave mid-test to keep the city from falling into flames or something.

"_Anyway_, there are a lot of things that might be getting canceled, not just the market," Alya said quickly, before Marinette (who was opening her mouth to say something) could object. "It's sad, really, especially because it's the _holidays_, but the mayor doesn't want people to be congregating in one place, because that could make a _really_ tempting target for the Purple Lady."

"How do you know all of this?" Marinette wanted to know. "Was it a report this morning that we all just missed or something?"

Alya laughed. "The serving staff at the _Grand Paris_ gossip with the kitchen staff about stuff that they overhear, and then mom tells us over dinner."

"All right, phones and notebooks away and back to your seats!" Ms. Bustier called, bringing an end to their conversation. She waved the stack of exams in her hand at them. "Have a pencil out plus an extra- and _ye_s_, _Kim, you can have a water bottle on your desk, too, you know it's school policy by now and you _don't_ have to ask every time. Best of luck to all of you on your exams and don't forget- take your time!"

The morning _crept_ by. Between classes, Adrien anxiously checked his phone, hoping that there hadn't been any signs of any akuma. It wasn't likely, not with the extra surprise of Dragoness that they had pulled out yesterday. Nathalie would need time to consider everything that she had seen and formulate a new plan of attack.

A new plan of attack which, hopefully, would fall flat on its face.

With the last class of the morning finished, the class headed as one large, excited mass down to the locker room to get coats and head either home or to the cafeteria for lunch. Snatches of conversation floated through the air- Rose was going caroling along with Juleka and Luka and she was trying to persuade some other people to go along; Mylène and Ivan were going on a date to the ballet to watch the _Nutcracker_, which was a favorite of both of theirs; Nathaniel was getting together with some extended family and wasn't looking forward to it at _all_; Lila was going to celebrate the holidays with Swedish royalty and then take a week in January to go to Hollywood again and visit some of her friends and connections there-

Adrien rolled his eyes, dropping to the back of the group to join Marinette as Nino and Alya pushed closer to hear the story that Lila was spinning this time. He hadn't been that bothered about her lies at first- they would come out eventually, and then she couldn't get upset at any _one_ person. But now that she was getting people's hopes up about connections that she _didn't_ have, she _was_ actively hurting people. He had heard Nino talk about those connections before, wondering if he should maybe put together a portfolio for Lila to pass on, and it had taken _so much_ for Adrien not to just sit his friend down and present all of his and Marinette's evidence that Lila was lying about absolutely _everything_. And it _would_ take a comprehensive presentation of his evidence at this point, considering the number of times that Marinette- and Adrien too, admittedly- had made comments about things that didn't add up, only to be ignored.

After the Purple Lady was taken care of and both she and his father were in jail, maybe he could do something about that whole situation. Lila couldn't get akumatized anymore then.

"I'm interpreting that pile of lies as she's either staying inside with her poster backgrounds for the entire break, or she's going back to Italy and using her posters there," Marinette told Adrien as he joined her. "And no one is going to question her, as per usual."

Adrien made a face. "Yeah. I was thinking that- well, this has gone on long enough. After the break, maybe, we could think up some way to call her out and end her whole charade. I just don't know _how_. Whenever we point anything out that doesn't fit, she has a million excuses at the ready."

Marinette smiled, linking her arm through his and slowing down to separate them from the rest of the group right before they reached the locker room. "I'm glad you think so, because I had gotten fed up with her and- well, you know how we have a foreign relations unit coming up in Civics after the holidays?"

"I- we do? How do you know that?"

"Adrien, we got a units schedule at the start of the year," Marinette told him, the fond exasperation clear in her voice. "We're about a week behind right now because of the akuma attacks, but that makes things work better because then that unit doesn't get split up. But _anyway_, foreign relations unit. So I suggested to Madam Mendeleev that we might visit the Italian embassy after the break, to kick the unit off-"

Adrien perked up. "Oh, that's _perfect!_ We can ask about how often they travel and meeting famous people and-"

A finger against his lips stopped him mid-sentence, and he raised an eyebrow at the impish look at Marinette's face. "It gets better."

"Oh?" Adrien came to a complete stop and pulled Marinette to the side so that they weren't blocking traffic. "Do tell."

"Well, Madam Mendeleev went for it right away. I think she suspects something is up with Lila's stories, to be honest. She told me that she was thinking of having it be a surprise field trip. And she called up the embassy, and Lila's _mom_ is going to do the presentation. But- get this- _she_ wants it to be a surprise for Lila, so she's keeping it secret, too. Lila won't find out until we get there and then it'll be too late for her to weasel her way out. And of course everyone else is going to want to ask about the celebrities and everything." Marinette smirked- and _wow_ was that ever a dangerous look on her- and crossed her arms. "So she can't blame us for outing her. And the teachers and her mom will learn about everything at the same time."

"That- Marinette, that's _brilliant!_" Adrien exclaimed, absolutely thrilled. That- that was _perfect_. Lila couldn't trace the idea back to Marinette to try to retaliate, the two of them wouldn't have to be the ones to ask the questions that would bring her down or deal with their classmates' confusion about why they were questioning Lila, it would be _after_ the Purple Lady was taken care of (though Marinette didn't know that bit, of course), everything would come out all at once, and with her mom _right there_, Lila wouldn't be able to pull out her usual list of excuses. They wouldn't need to do any dirty work or pull the whole thing into a big confrontation with the two of them at the front, which was what he had been most nervous about. "That's absolutely brilliant- _you're_ brilliant, has anyone ever told you that?" Grinning, Adrien leaned forward, catching Marinette's chin in one hand so he could press a kiss to one cheek- and then, just because he was there and giddy and he _could_, he added two more for good measure.

Marinette laughed, ducking away from him. Naturally, that just spurred him on. "Adrien!"

"What? I'm just showing my appreciation for your _genius_ planning skills!" Adrien captured Marinette around the waist and pressed another kiss to her cheek, grinning at her laughter. "Gotcha!"

Marinette responded with a groan and a playful swat, squirming but clearly not _that_ interested in getting away. Adrien grinned and then did what any sensible (fake) boyfriend would do when faced with a giggling, protesting (fake) girlfriend in his arms.

He started peppering Marinette's face with playful kisses, dodging her halfhearted swats as he did. His fingers closed around her wrists as she swatted him again, keeping them still as he went in for a kiss to the tip of Marinette's nose.

He hadn't been expecting her to move.

Adrien's lips connected with Marinette's, and he froze partway thought the kiss. The two of them had decided during a note-passing conversation recently that they would probably have to kiss at some point during their fake relationship to keep it believable, but they hadn't exactly discussed _when_ and they _definitely_ hadn't talked about kissing _now_-

And Marinette was kissing him back.

Mentally shrugging his shoulders, Adrien went along with it, unfreezing and returning the kiss, unable to help smiling into it as he did. It didn't last long, and then they broke apart. Neither went far, though, only separating far enough to press their foreheads together. Adrien blinked his eyes open and was pleased to see that Marinette didn't look upset at all by the unexpected kiss. She looked a little shy, though, so Adrien leaned forward for long enough to press a light kiss to his original target- that was, the tip of Marinette's nose- before releasing her and taking a small step back.

Marinette laughed. "You're a dweeb."

Relieved- he hadn't messed things up between them, thank _goodness_\- Adrien grinned at her. "Yeah, but am I at least a _cute_ dweeb?"

"Oh, I _suppose_."

"Are you two done being gross?" a loud voice demanded, and Adrien startled and spun around to see Chloe standing there. She didn't look impressed, but Adrien refused to feel sheepish. They hadn't been doing anything wrong. "I did _not_ need to see that before lunch."

"We were just kissing, Chloe," Adrien pointed out. He glanced behind her and was surprised to not see Sabrina. Maybe she was still in the group hovering around Lila. "And we weren't in the way of the door or anything, you didn't _have_ to look."

"I did! I come with a message." Chloe glanced around to make sure that no one was listening, then leaned in closer, lowering her voice. "Your mom wanted to have lunch with you today at the Grand Paris. You could come too, I suppose," she added in Marinette's direction. "If you really had to."

Marinette looked like she was resisting the urge to laugh. "I'll pass today, thanks. I have a few Christmas presents that I still need to finish up and then I have some studying to do."

"And you need to remember to eat between all of that," Adrien reminded her, catching her arm to steer her into the locker room so they could grab their coats. "I know what you get like when you get caught up in a project, and listening to your stomach growling all afternoon makes _me_ hungry."

"It does _not_, Adrien, you just like exaggerating."

With Chloe hovering behind them hurrying him on, it didn't take him long to gather up his things and head out to Chloe's waiting limo. Once they were inside and on their way back to the hotel, Adrien couldn't help but let his mind wander back to the kiss.

They had just been messing around. Part of it- he couldn't deny it- had been because he was a bit tired and lacking any impulse control. Part of it was because he could be his goofiest self around Marinette and she was goofy right back, instead of judging him like Chloe or his father would. And part of it...

Well, Adrien couldn't deny that he had _really_ enjoyed their date together, even if it _had_ technically been fake. He enjoyed _all_ of his time together with her. And he had enjoyed their kiss, too.

So maybe he had a bit of a crush on her.

But he couldn't _do_ anything about it, not now. Not when they were in the hectic final days of the semester and- in his superhero life- the frantic planning leading up to the final battle. Adding _real_ dates to that...

Well, it wouldn't be fair to Marinette, because he might have to leave their dates to go fight a dangerous supervillain. And it _also_ wouldn't be fair to Marinette to start dating her when he was still in love with Ladybug. It seemed like that could easily end up sinking their fledgling relationship before it had a chance and, well... Adrien didn't want to lose Marinette.

He could wait. Wait until all of the craziness had passed and things had settled down, wait until his feelings for Ladybug subsided a bit, and wait for a better time to start the relationship.

* * *

It didn't take Chat Noir long to transform and race over to the Grand Paris after school let out, joining Ladybug on the rooftop before they dropped down onto Mrs. Agreste's balcony. He had told Marinette that he had something going on for a bit after school and would let her know when he was free, and she had nodded, as understanding as ever. As it turned out, she had something that she needed to do, too, so she would _also_ text him when she was done so that he could come over and they could do a bit more studying together.

It was funny how those coincidences worked out, really, but he couldn't deny that he was grateful for them.

As usual, the superheroes wasted no time once they were waved into Mrs. Agreste's room. Ladybug handed over the bag of potions at once, then moved immediately into explaining what else they were there for.

"We were wondering- well, last night, we took the curse off of the Peacock Miraculous," Ladybug started. "And we noticed that there were more connections than we expected- three still active before we cut them, instead of just one."

Mrs. Agreste frowned. "Three? Who...?"

"Well, Nathalie, obviously. Then Mr. Agreste, because he apparently used the Peacock with Heart a couple times to try to get a better feel for the curse or something-"

Mrs. Agreste muttered something that Chat Noir didn't _quite_ catch but he didn't doubt that it wasn't particularly complimentary towards his father.

"-and then a third one," Ladybug finished, clearly trying to hide a smile. "Yours we had already cut, as you know. So we were wondering- was there someone who used the Peacock before you? Where did you get it from?"

"I got it from a friend of mine," Mrs. Agreste said at once. "Tomoe Tsurugi. She had used it before me for the same purpose, but she renounced it, I thought. She didn't want to use it anymore but an active Peacock was still needed, so she gave it up and gave it to me." The frown deepened. "And I would have thought that _she _at least would have figured out Gabriel and gone to you to stop him."

"Renouncing it didn't work completely with Duusu in limbo," Chat Noir told her. "The bond had to be cut." Then he frowned as the familiarity of the name hit him. "Wait, Tsurugi? The fencer?"

Mrs. Agreste nodded, a frown on her face. "Right. She knew where the Peacock had gone, of course, and I had told her that I had managed to track down the Butterfly. I hadn't ever used it because after I learned about the Butterfly's powers, I couldn't see how they would work for fighting the demons. I didn't want to send actual, _breakable_ people up against them, and I didn't know if it would have the same effect as the Peacock, to mend the rift between the worlds once the demons had been chased back. But she _knew_. She _had_ to know who had the Butterfly once I was gone."

"Another mystery," Ladybug commented to Chat Noir. "They never end, do they?"

"It's a tangled mess," Chat Noir agreed. Then he re-focused his attention on Mrs. Agreste. "But how did she keep fencing if she had the Peacock draining her energy? I mean, she used Body, right?"

"Correct." Mrs. Agreste's smile had turned a little sad. "It had a _very_ different effect on Tomoe than it did on me, though."

"Can you explain that bit more?" Chat Noir requested, exchanging a puzzled look with Ladybug. "We thought that the _body_ option of the curse always manifested as drained energy."

Mrs. Agreste nodded, then shrugged, then sighed. "I mean, no one can _really_ understand how magic and curses work, can they? For some reason, it latched onto a preexisting condition: her deteriorating eyesight." She sighed, slumping into a chair. "Tomoe used to be able to see. It took a _lot_ of serious correction, though. Then, before she had even gotten the Peacock, the darkness started creeping in, from the outside in. It moved in slowly, enough that she knew that she would go completely blind eventually but not for a while. She adapted, learning how to fight just as well as before with her somewhat limited field of vision. Then she got the Miraculous- I believe from a relative- and she took on the responsibility of using it."

Ladybug and Chat Noir exchanged a look, unwilling to chime in and interrupt the story.

"It sped up the progression of her condition- retinitis pigmentosa, I believe it's called- but she refused to let that slow her down," Mrs. Agreste continued. "Her job was important in keeping the world safe, after all, and she had worked for her _entire_ life to get where she was with fencing, so she didn't want to give either one up. We figured out that feeding the Miraculous helped minimize the effects, and she kept fencing, practicing harder and harder. It's so hard to do when missing the peripheral vision, but she figured out how to adapt and overcome. It helped that she never told anyone, I think. If no one knew, then no one could exploit it."

"Didn't she have to tell someone eventually?" Chat Noir wanted to know. "Her coach, at least?"

"He knew about her condition from the start, but he didn't know that it had progressed so quickly. No one did." Mrs. Agreste sighed. "She finally decided to give up the responsibility when it was clear that continued use of the Miraculous would cut her career _far_ too short. I took on the Miraculous, then, and spent a large chunk of time trying how to figure out how to break the curse, with no luck. And by then, Tomoe had enough of a connection to the Peacock that her blindness continued to progress at an accelerated rate. She had to give up competitive fencing for good several years back, and a year after that, the last of her vision went, all at once. As it turned out, she also had another eye condition, but it was just slower to appear. That took her vision from the center of her eyes, and the two blind areas converged."

Chat Noir couldn't help but cringe in sympathy. That was awful, but also pretty incredible. It was obvious that Madam Tsurugi would s_till_ be winning championships now if she could still see at all. He had seen her fencing tapes from near the end of her fencing career, when she would have lost a _lot_ of her vision and what remained had to have been heavily corrected, and he never would have guessed that she had any handicaps at all.

She must have trained _really_ hard to stay in the championships at all, and to _win_ them? Chat Noir wished that _he_ could be that good.

"Could you heal her, like you healed me?" Mrs. Agreste asked anxiously. "I know she would appreciate it _so_ much."

Chat Noir glanced over at Ladybug, glad to see that she looked as uncertain as he felt. "Uh..."

"We can ask our mentor," Ladybug promised. "It might be difficult, though, since the curse got tangled up in a preexisting condition."

"Right," Mrs. Agreste said at once. "I can understand that. Fully restored sight would be impossible, since it was poor even _before_ she got the Miraculous, but even a _bit_ of improvement from what she has now- I don't doubt that it would be _much_ appreciated. She thought that she would have more time with at least _partial_ vision before losing it all. Even if she _has_ adapted now…"

Chat Noir nodded, glancing at Ladybug again. They would have to visit Madam Tsurugi soon, then, and figure out not only what was going on with her knowledge about the Miraculous, but also what they could do (if anything) about the effects that the curse had had on her.

"What else do you need to do before you can take down the Purple Lady and help Nathalie?" Mrs. Agreste asked after several seconds had passed. "Is there any way that I can help that along? It's not that I don't appreciate the Grand Paris providing me with this room, really, but I'd love to be able to go back home. And I'm sure that you would appreciate not having your holidays interrupted by akuma attacks."

"Right," Chat Noir agreed. He glanced over at Ladybug, hoping that she would be fine with him sharing information with Mrs. Agreste. She nodded in encouragement. "Well, the curse has been broken on the Peacock Miraculous, and Duusu is currently recovering. We want him to be recovered before we do the final battle because, uh..." He frowned. "Actually, I'm not sure _why_."

"For the surprise element," Ladybug filled in. She grinned at his puzzled look, because _seriously_, when had Master Fu mentioned _that?_ And- the bigger question- how had _Ladybug_ caught that when he hadn't, when she had been the one practically sleepwalking when Master Fu got Duusu out? "If the Purple Lady sees the Peacock in action, she'll be thrown off enough for us to get an opening to take her down."

"Couldn't we get Rena to do that with an illusion?"

Ladybug made a face. "I don't know how convincing it would be, though. And her illusions don't last long. The Purple Lady is smart. I can see where it would be better to have the actual Peacock back in action. And Mr. Agreste said that he would send a ton of fruit, so hopefully it won't take more than a couple days to get Duusu fully recovered."

Mrs. Agreste nodded, leaning forward. "That's smart. But may I make a suggestion?"

"Go for it."

"Having the Peacock out and about would throw Nathalie off some," Mrs. Agreste started, straightening. "There's no doubt about that. But she knew what _I_ looked like when transformed. And she thinks that I'm still deep in a coma underground. So what would you think about _me_ becoming Paon again?"

* * *

_a/n: Adrinette coming in hot! At least Adrien has more-or-less figured out that if he ends up kissing his "just a friend" while sleep-deprived, that probably means that he's at least a little bit interested._

_So when I originally wrote this chapter, we hadn't seen or heard much of Kagami's mom. The extent of what I knew about her was that she was blind and strict, had been a world champion fencer, and had some sort of existing connection/understanding with Mr. Agreste. While there is such thing as blind fencing, from what I could tell it wasn't exactly at championship level. Most of the speculation I've seen about the championship/her blindness was that she lost her eyesight in a fencing accident, but __I decided to base Madam Tsurugi off of_ _Danelle Umstead, the blind alpine skier, instead, and have her having won world championships while legally blind. There'll be more on her and her story in the next chapter.  
_

_also re: the curse-accelerated blindness and the "curing" it: I know this can be a really touchy subject as far as ableism goes so I'm trying to be considerate of that. I have both vision correction (last time I checked, I think the correction was in the -7 to -8 range which, sadly, puts me at having the second-best vision in my family (my brother's correction is in the -11/-12 range, and my mom is up at -18/-19)) and hearing loss. Personally, I would jump at the chance to get either (particularly the hearing) either improved or fully restored (ie without the use of glasses/hearing aids) because while I've gotten used to both glasses and hearing problems, that doesn't stop them from being irritating and inconvenient (again, particularly with the hearing), and that was kind of the viewpoint that I wrote with. I did try looking up opinions from actual people who have gone blind- if they would want to see again or not- but opinion there seems to be divided, too._

_As always, reviews make my day! _


	20. The Holiday Spirit

Marinette honestly Could Not Wait until she got her free time back to herself.

She and Adrien had been _meant_ to get together after school on Wednesday to hang out, after she finished with her visit as Ladybug with his mom and he finished up whatever he was doing, but by the time that she had finished talking with Mrs. Agreste (who wanted to take up her old mantel of Paon in the final battle, even though she was still recovering) and then visiting Master Fu with Chat Noir to update him on, well, _everything_, and then get a bit more training with defensive spells, it was time for dinner and Adrien wouldn't have been able to come over anyway.

It was a good thing that she wasn't having any trouble with the concepts that she was getting tested on, because she hadn't had that much time to study before it was time to go to bed so that she could get a decent amount of sleep before her next day of exams. Then it was time to get up again, go to school, push through a couple more exams and her group presentation with Adrien, run an errand for Master Fu at lunch (Duusu was _still_ inhaling mountains of fruit, it seemed, and Mr. Agreste had sent another shipment that she then had to deliver to its _actual_ destination, part by part, and then he had needed her to pick up a couple ingredients for another potion after that), go _back_ to school, do one more test, remind everyone that the holiday party was the next day and _please_ remember to sign up to bring treats if they hadn't before, and then she had to give Adrien another excuse about why she couldn't hang out after school before running off with Chat Noir to accompany Jade Turtle to the Tsurugi home.

She and Adrien had yet to talk about their accidental kiss and if it had meant anything. It hadn't been in front of anyone (at least not on purpose) to "prove" that they were actually dating, and hadn't been at all staged. Marinette was tempted to read into it, to think that maybe Adrien saw her as more than a friend after all, but it just wasn't the right time for that. The final confrontation was creeping closer and closer, and as soon as it was over, his father and Nathalie would both be taken to jail. He wouldn't have the additional surprise of getting his mom back at the same time- after all, he had known about her for a good chunk of the week now- but it was _still_ a lot.

...she had _really_ liked kissing Adrien. It hadn't been a long kiss, and she had still been giggly from his kissing attack, but it had been _really_ sweet, and his nose kiss afterwards?

Adrien was too cute, he really was.

But now wasn't the time to think about that, when the two superheroes and Jade Turtle were transformed and approaching the Tsurugi house. Master Fu had called ahead and Madam Tsurugi knew they coming (and Kagami was still at school, so they didn't have to worry about her overhearing their conversation with her mother), but Ladybug still had to have her head in the game.

After all, they had a _lot_ of questions for Madam Tsurugi. Some were about how the curse had interacted with her diminishing eyesight, of course- Jade Turtle was particularly interested in making sure that the curse hadn't _kept_ spreading after her eyesight was entirely gone- but they also wanted to find out how she had ended up with the Miraculous in the first place, and also, well…

"Mrs. Agreste mentioned that you would have known about both the Peacock and the Butterfly being in her possession-"

"Emilie?" Madam Tsurugi sat bolt upright, clearly startled, and Ladybug frowned at Jade Turtle. Perhaps Madam Tsurugi had asked why they had come and it was a _bit_ weird that she hadn't ever approached the superheroes to tell them about who Hawkmoth was, but there was no need for Jade Turtle to lead in with such an _aggressive_ statement. "She's- is she awake? The last I heard, Mr. Agreste told me that she was getting worse!"

Jade Turtle smiled slightly, watching Madam Tsurugi carefully. "Yes, well, there has been an interesting turn of events lately. It might be difficult to explain everything that's happened, but in summary, Mrs. Agreste has been awakened, Mr. Agreste has surrendered to us but hasn't handed himself over publically yet, Ms. Sancoeur had been using Heart to transform with the Peacock, and now she's snatched the Butterfly and we have recovered the Peacock and removed the curse."

"Just like that, huh?" Madam Tsurugi asked, frowning. "Emilie and I tried _so_ hard and didn't make a single dent in that curse. But I suppose we didn't have the knowledge to manage it." She sighed. "But yes, I _did_ know that she had the Butterfly. And it didn't take a genius to figure out who had taken it."

"And you didn't tell anyone," Jade Turtle prompted. "Was there any particular reason why?"

Madam Tsurugi looked uncomfortable as she shifted in her seat. "Well, at first, I just wasn't in the country. My daughter and I have been in Japan for the past couple years, trying to get a blind fencing group established there. I didn't keep up with the news in Paris that much, because all I really cared about here was Emilie and my old fencing academy. Once we moved back to Paris, I heard enough about Hawkmoth to figure out that the Butterfly Miraculous was involved. I confronted Gabriel, but he told me about his plan to use the two main Miraculous to get a wish- a wish to change the timeline, for the curse to be removed from the Peacock before either Emilie or I used it."

"So your eyesight would not have deteriorated faster than normal," Jade Turtle filled in. "I see."

"I didn't tell anyone anything, as the akumas seemed annoying but largely harmless enough. I was a rather irritated when my own daughter was akumatized shortly after we arrived, of course, but Mr. Agreste claimed that he only got impressions of feelings when he akumatized people, not names." Madam Tsurugi sighed. "Shortly after _that_, I signed a contract with him. He promised to do his best not to akumatize Kagami or I, as well as ensure that his wish would remove the curse before I used it. In return, I would not tell anyone about his secret identity. I only realized after the fact that the contract was _entirely_ for his benefit- it was not a steel-bound promise to _not_ akumatize us, only that he would _try_ to avoid it, and once the timeline was rewritten, the contract would vanish and I would have no memory of it. He could set the time that the curse would wear off to simply happen before Emilie took over, and I would never know the difference."

"But he had the contract to hold over your head, then," Chat Noir filled in, looking more interested now. "If you went to the police, he would get arrested, but he could get his revenge by showing the contract to the police and saying that you had known for a while and kept it secret because it would benefit you."

Madam Tsurugi nodded sharply. "Precisely. And I know _exactly_ how publicized that would be. Our family honor would be _destroyed_."

Ladybug winced, thinking about what (admittedly little) she knew about Kagami and her family. Family honor was a pretty big thing, one that was Not To Be Messed With, and Mr. Agreste had taken full advantage of that to pinch off a threat at the roots.

Thank goodness Mr. Agreste hadn't been _anywhere_ near as crafty of a supervillain as he was a businessman. They might have actually been in trouble then.

"Of course, it might have looked better for us had I simply ignored the possible repercussions and gone forward myself," Madam Tsurugi added. "Now, I've said nothing. I sat back and allowed a supervillain to run over the city, even after I _knew_ that the attacks were getting more dangerous. I let my fear about the repercussions of reporting Gabriel and Nathalie silence me, and now public opinion will _destroy _me."

"_If_ he bothers to pull out the contract," Jade Turtle told her. She scoffed.

"The police will find it. There were multiple copies, and I don't doubt that he scanned it and has copies on his computer as well." Madam Tsurugi sighed. "He won't think to destroy them. And I suppose I deserve it. I prioritized my desires over what the city needed, and that was an action unbenefitting to a former superhero. I can only hope that my punishment will be a reprimand and nothing worse."

"We can hope." Jade Turtle glanced towards the superheroes, then back at Madam Tsurugi. "That wasn't the only question we had. We have talked some with Mrs. Agreste about what the Peacock was being used for and why and where it came from, but she still tires easily and we don't want to risk being seen near the place that she's staying while the Purple Lady is still active. So we were wondering, well… about _everything_."

Madam Tsurugi nodded. Her shoulders relaxed slightly- clearly she had expected more of a scolding from them. "Yes, well, it _is_ a odd story, and I might as well start from- from the _very_ start. As I'm sure you know, I am a champion fencer. I trained from a young age and showed good promise- and this was coming from a champion family. Soon enough, I had my life's goal- to beat my uncle's record number of championships. He was _legendary_, and I wanted to be, too."

Ladybug listened, attentive. She could see where this was going, honestly. Losing eyesight on its own…well, that already had to be hard. With what was starting to sound like a lifelong goal to beat a legendary relative's record, a goal that extended family members were no doubt aware of…

"I was a _champion_, getting sponsorships so that it could be my job and I could focus all of my energy on training. And then I started losing my peripheral vision. I had needed a fair amount of correction prior to that, but black on the edges of my vision- _that_ was new." Madam Tsurugi sighed, her shoulders slumping ever-so-slightly before she caught and corrected herself. "I was diagnosed with retinitis pigmentosa, which is genetic and progressive, tunnel vision closing in. I was _crushed_, but I wasn't going to let it slow me down. Fencing helmets _do_ obscure vision and it's not as though we're really going to get attacked from the side."

Ladybug nodded. She could remember that, from her brief brush with fencing. Having the helmet had been pretty disorienting at first, since she was used to fighting with nothing obstructing her vision, but it was easy enough to work around when she only had to deal with attacks from the front.

Madam Tsurugi continued, emotion making her voice waver ever-so-slightly. "I kept winning despite the handicap, even when I was pregnant with Kagami. I gave birth to her between championships and gave myself no recovery time. The black was creeping inwards, and so I had to fight while I could. I moved to Paris after a number of years, because my trainer in Japan was doubtful about how long I would be able to fight with reduced vision and I had heard about a different trainer in Paris, one who had won championships but who also _had_ trained blind fencers at his school before- not competitively, or at least not competitively at the level that I was at- but I figured that he might have some ideas for me to work with my decreasing vision."

"And that was when the portals started opening?" Jade Turtle inquired. Madam Tsurugi nodded.

"Correct. Shortly after I moved to Paris, the portal first opened."

Ladybug listened intently as Madam Tsurugi detailed how she had become the Royal Peafowl, getting the Miraculous and the associated book and scrolls from a Chinese friend of the family who knew that they were magic and had protective properties but hadn't known specifics. Shortly after moving, she had met Emilie, with her talent for languages and cryptograms and other word puzzles, and they started the slow process of deciphering the book, starting with a page that- thankfully- had pictures of the creatures that they had dubbed demons. They found a spell to make people forget about both the tear in the sky and the sentimonster, which perhaps was a little unnecessary but seemed like a good idea, to reduce public panic…and then realized that using the pin seemed to be speeding up the rate of Madam Tsurugi's tunnel vision.

Like, _quite a bit_. Her doctor had expressed concern, but at that point…well, the Royal Peafowl had become a _duty_, even if she was only needed a couple times per year.

They had stumbled across the idea of feeding the pin after that, completely by accident after Mrs. Agreste had set a banana down next to the pin and had watched as it immediately vanished by chunks. They tried that for a bit, and then Madam Tsurugi decided to pass the pin on to Emilie, since she didn't have any pre-existing conditions for the curse to latch on to. Using the pin had made her a little tired at first, even though she was feeding it as often as she could, but it didn't seem like anything to worry about. Emilie had largely hidden how the Miraculous had affected her after several years of use, which was made easier by distance- Madam Tsurugi had moved back to Japan after retiring from competition. The decision to end her competitive career had come after another eye condition had sprung up, taking the center of her vision and leaving her with only a fuzzy ring of vision between the black creeping in from the outside and the black spreading out from the middle. While she _could_ still fence, it would not have been at the same level and she had wanted to go out on a high.

A high which, unfortunately, had come one title shy of tying with her uncle's record.

"I had started teaching fencing well prior to that, thankfully," Madam Tsurugi told them. "So even though I no longer had my sponsorships as a steady source of income, I _did_ still have a job- and _yes_, I am still teaching now, even though all of my sight has gone. I can demonstrate moves, and we use blind fencing as a teaching tool, even with fully-sighted fencers. Since the helmets obscure some vision, we take that to the extreme to teach our fencers how to use other factors in their environment to tell them where their opponents are and where they're likely to move."

Chat Noir blinked in surprise. "I- I've never heard of that training technique before."

"I'm not surprised. It's not a common technique. Many people, I've found, underestimate the value of using training designed for _blind_ fencers when they themselves can see." Madam Tsurugi's smile was thin. "Their loss."

"Indeed."

"At any rate, Emilie _was_ looking for solutions for the problem, as she did not want to continue dealing with the threat forever," Madam Tsurugi continued, picking her story back up. "The tears were getting more frequent, we could tell that much. Emilie talked to my friend who had given me the Miraculous in the first place, and between the two of them, they managed to track down the Butterfly and buy it off of someone, maybe a month or two before her last battle. The idea was for her to learn how to use the Butterfly in place of the Peacock. We had suspected that, given the pictures in the book, there was something wrong with it. But Emilie learned about _how_ the Butterfly worked right before it got shipped to her, and, well, she had concerns about sending a person- even a person with superpowers- up against the demons. It seemed like there was a very specific set of powers she would have to give her superhero, too, for them to be able to accomplish the same thing as her sentimonsters had."

Jade Turtle hummed in confirmation. "It _would_ be harder to get the Butterfly's powers to be as effective as the Peacock's against that particular threat. It could be done, of course, but it would be hard."

"So Emilie didn't even _try _using the Butterfly, to the best of my knowledge, and instead focused on finishing her translation of a spell that would fix the tear for good." Madam Tsurugi sighed. "She had told me, of course. We were excited about it. She was going to give the brooch more food than ever to try to keep it from affecting her too much. The next thing I knew, I heard that she had fallen into a coma. One power use and two spells were too much of a power draw, and the demon appearances had gotten too close together. She hadn't had enough time to recover. I figured that she would recover soon enough, since the worst of the tiredness- to my knowledge- usually vanished pretty quickly. The fact that she _didn't_…"

"Ah, I might know what went wrong now," Jade Turtle said, a small smile on his face. "Mr. Agreste didn't know about the food for the pin. If he had, it's possible that she would have been out for a couple days before waking up again. Or perhaps not, it's impossible to tell how much exhaustion she was hiding."

Madam Tsurugi was frowning. "But why- _why_ wouldn't she tell him about that? Emilie is smart, she would have known that something new like using two spells instead of one could be dangerous. And I wasn't in the city when that went down, of course, and I wasn't meant to come visit for _months_. I understand not telling _everyone_, but I had figured that Gabriel at least knew about the food! That he was trying _that_, at the very least!"

"Well, she's awake and well out of danger now," Jade Turtle soothed. "We were able to undo what the curse did to her, and she's recovering."

Madam Tsurugi leaned forward at that, suddenly intent. "You said- I hadn't caught it before, but you didn't _just_ wake her up, you undid the effects of the curse? Would it be possible- I mean, I always knew that I was going to lose all of my vision and I've accepted that and have figured out how to keep teaching, but I _had_ expected a bit more time with my vision before it went completely...and it's been several years since I've been able to see my daughter fence at all, and I've heard that she's made great progress. I know it's been years, but might it be possible to- to undo the curse's effects on _me?_"

Jade Turtle considered her, his expression softening. "Well, we can certainly _try_. But I must warn you- with the curse getting tangled up in a preexisting condition, that could make things more difficult. I don't know how it will respond to the cure. It may not help, it may return you to the vision you had before using the Peacock, it may end up where you _would_ have been without the curse's interference, it might just fall somewhere in between." He paused for a moment, then spoke up again. "If you don't mind me asking, how far along _should_ your blindness be, given the rate of progression prior to when you started using the Peacock Miraculous?"

Madam Tsurugi's brow furrowed as she thought, fingers tapping against her legs. "Approximately? It's hard to say, of course. _Before_ I used the Peacock, my tunnel vision was about….so." She held up her hands, curved, to illustrate the boundaries of her vision.

Ladybug exchanged a glance with Chat Noir. Madam Tsurugi's hands were maybe a shoulder's width apart, held about the same distance out in front of her face. Thinking of fighting with _that much_ peripheral vision gone…

It couldn't have been easy. And Madam Tsurugi had been fighting at a _very_ competitive level even _with_ her vision like that, and even for years _past_ that. That was _incredible_.

"Now, if I remember correctly, I would be more like….so." Her hands moved closer, just wider than her face. "Or even narrower, I don't remember. And of course, it's hard to estimate when I can't, well, _see_, and of course that was only their best guess."

Chat Noir leaned forward, expression curious. "Was your vision like that, then, when you did your last championship? Just out of curiosity."

Madam Tsurugi managed a small smile, bringing her hands together a fraction more. "Like so, if I had to estimate, and even with the strongest correction available, what was left of my vision still wasn't clear- legally, even if I still got shapes and colors and could do without a cane in public- I was blind."

Ladybug and Chat Noir exchanged another look, and Ladybug was pretty sure that her jaw was on the _floor_. That- that was _incredible_. No matter how else she felt about Madam Tsurugi and her somewhat morally grey involvement in this whole mess, there was no denying that the woman was a _serious_ role model, particularly when it came to not letting handicaps hold her back.

"That is _quite_ impressive," Jade Turtle said, his smile clear in his voice. "You are _quite_ the powerhouse to be reckoned with, that's for sure. And we'll certainly see what we can do about the curse's effects on you."

Madam Tsurugi inclined her head, the picture of steely composure. "I greatly appreciate it."

"Ladybug, Chat Noir, I thank you for your time and for accompanying an old man," Jade Turtle told them, smiling at the two superheroes. "It is much appreciated. You may take your leave now, and if you can spare the time, ma'am, I'd like to try a few spells to try to get a better picture of how the curse interacted with you."

* * *

Adrien and Marinette practiced their presentation for Madam Mendeleev's class one last time over a warm breakfast of quiche and freshly baked bread, spread with plenty of butter. They had it down pat now, their timing absolutely perfect and no delays as they tossed the presentation back and forth between the two of them.

They made a _fantastic_ team, they really did.

"Last day before the holidays," Adrien said cheerfully as he tucked the thumb drive with the presentation on it into his bag. "One quiz, one presentation, and a whole lot of lazing about and talking about holidays plans. Fantastic."

"It'll be fun," Marinette agreed. She carefully placed the Yule log cake box into a bag and set it near the rest of her things by the door. "You _absolutely_ went overboard with the number of chips you're bringing, I just want you to know that."

Adrien laughed. "I didn't buy them myself, you know. My father had the Gorilla get them for me, and he just asked what kinds of chips people liked. I gave him a short list of examples, and he, uh...decided to get them all. Or almost all, at least."

Marinette grinned. That was pretty funny, actually. She knew that there was a reason why she liked the Gorilla.

It didn't take long to bundle up and carry both food and party supplies across the street and to the school. Marinette set her cake box and Adrien's bag of chip bags into the large box behind Ms. Bustier's desk, placed the receipts for the party decorations in front of Ms. Bustier's computer, as their teacher had requested, and then started setting out the supplies for making their snowflakes and other decorations on the folding table that Ms. Bustier already had set up. Adrien helped, unpacking her bags and opening packages of construction paper so that it didn't take so long to set up. The result was pretty impressive, really, with four shades of blue paper, one white, one black, and a variety pack, plus a whole slew of glitter glue and a few skeins of wintery-colored yarn.

"I'm going to get markers, colored pencils, and scissors from the art room," Marinette told Adrien. She had asked the art teacher about borrowing the supplies as soon as she and Adrien had come up with their first few ideas for the party, and he had agreed right away. "Want to stay here and make sure that the food doesn't walk away? We had problems with that a couple years ago."

"Really? That's terrible!" Adrien planted himself in his usual seat, sitting up straight. "I'll guard the room."

Marinette nodded, then dashed out of the room and down the hallway. Mr. Ross would be there by now, and he would no doubt have the supplies ready. Then she could grab them, get them set out, and then write down what was going to go on- when they were going to actually eat the food, for one, and when they had to be cleaning up the art supplies- on the whiteboard.

Chloe had never done _nearly_ as much for their holiday parties, but for most of the years when she was class president, they were too young for her to be put in charge of planning anything. Then, for the last year of her class president run, she had her butler plan and bring in everything. It had been a very nice party, to be fair, but it felt a little too formal for a _school_ party.

"You're doing such a good job, Marinette!" Tikki told her, popping her head out of Marinette's purse. "The party should be a lot of fun!"

"I hope so," Marinette said, thinking about all of the rushing and frantic planning that had gone into pulling the party together. "I really, _really_ hope so."

* * *

"Alix, Kim, stop using the glitter glue as face paint! That is _not_ its intended use!"

The four of them exchanged amused looks as Ms. Bustier hurried up the classroom steps to try to regain order in the back of the room. The class was hard at work, most busy cutting snowflakes and making little snowmen. Ivan and Max were working together to hang up the silver garlands around the room and to zig-zag some of the yarn back and forth between the outer windows and the hallway windows so that people could hang their finished snowflakes up in the air instead of just on the windows and blackboards. Nathaniel had brought his window paints and, with both Ms. Bustier's and Mr. Damocles' permission, was painting a winter scene on the outermost window while chatting with Rose, Juleka, and Lila.

It looked very wintery and festive. Minus, of course, Alix and Kim and their "winter warrior paint", aka glitter glue smeared across their faces. Marinette wasn't sure that Kim had thought things all the way through when he had painted the glitter glue over his eyebrows. Something told her that he was going to have a _bit_ of a painful time getting it out again.

"My sisters would have an absolute field day with all of these supplies," Alya said as she smeared some silver glitter along the edge of her snowflake. "They _love_ glitter glue. They've got an entire shoebox _each _filled with the stuff." She grimaced. "They need to be _heavily_ supervised with they use it, though, or they'll end up with it in their hair and all over their clothes."

Nino grinned. "She's still bitter about it because the last time she was babysitting, her sisters got into the glitter glue without permission and decorated their clothes. And because she hadn't been paying attention, she got to do all of the cleaning."

Alya scowled at him. "Okay, it wasn't _entirely_ my fault that they got into the glitter glue. Nora put it away too low, so they could actually reach it. And I had to get that article done for the Ladyblog tracking how the akuma attacks were getting more dangerous. I _should_ have been able to do that without worrying about them. It's not like I took the glitter glue down and then ignored them."

Marinette winced in sympathy. She could only imagine how difficult it would be to get glitter glue out of clothing. She had said before that Alya's family needed a locked arts and crafts chest, like she had had when she was younger (and still kept, to lock things away when Manon came over), but apparently nothing had come of _that_ particular suggestion.

"So d'you think that your father will be better about the holidays this year?" Nino asked Adrien, changing the subject before Alya glared a hole in her bottle of glitter glue. "I think you said something about him being a little less of a recluse lately, right? So he might actually come out and celebrate with you on his own without you running off?"

Marinette paused mid-cut, glancing over at Adrien. _She_ knew why Mr. Agreste was coming out more- with Nathalie's heart pretty much gone, he couldn't send her out, and he wanted to get a break from her and that had the side effect of him spending more time with Adrien- but _Adrien_ didn't know that. He had to suspect that _something_ was up, though, considering that suddenly he wasn't seeing Nathalie at all and his mom was back under _really_ strange conditions. Adrien's face was carefully neutral, though, giving nothing away.

"It's hard to say with him," Adrien said at last. "I'm not going to get my hopes up about anything, that's for sure. And I'll not run off this year, I just- I just had to get out of the house last year."

Marinette slid a hand over, bumping it gently against Adrien's thigh in silent support. He flashed a smile over at her, curling his fingers around her hand and giving it a light squeeze.

He would have his mom this year, she knew at least that much (and Alya and Nino did not). However, he might not have his father. It would _stink_ for him to have his father go to jail so close to Christmas, but if Duusu recovered by then and the Purple Lady attacked, they would take her down.

It would be _lovely_ for Paris to have their supervillain taken care of before Christmas. It would be less lovely for Adrien.

At least he would have his mom. She had to focus on that.

"Well, if you gotta get out this year- seriously, just call one of us up," Nino told him, gesturing to himself, Alya, and Marinette. Then he grinned. "Though I suppose that I don't even need to guess who you're going to go to first- what do you bet, Alya, that Adrien would go to his girlfriend first, or little old us?"

"Well, there's only one person who can give Adrien Christmas kisses, and it's not me," Alya said, grinning widely. "_Or _you. So I'm going to guess that he's going to go for the Dupain-Cheng place first. By the way, guys, when were you planning on telling us that you've worked your way up to kissing, hmm? Or were you going to keep _that_ secret, too?"

Marinette could only groan.

Their last day before break went by in a rush. The single test that they had went smoothly, the presentation that she gave with Adrien went off without a single hitch. They had lunch, one more class, and then their last gym class of the semester.

She could have done without the dodgeballs. It was a relief when the clock on the wall marked the class as half over and she, Alya, and Adrien could leave to set up the table of food. Nino opted to stay and keep playing, which was probably for the better as Mr. D'Argencourt looked less than pleased about the three of them leaving.

"Party time!" Alya trilled as they walked into Ms. Bustier's room. "Oh, man, _look_ at all of that food. I hope no one ate _too_ much at lunch, 'cause we're gonna need people to bring their appetites."

Ms. Bustier laughed from her spot at her desk. "I've already had to shut down the proposal of an eating contest between Alix and Kim, Alya, _please_ don't encourage it. Leftovers are _fine_."

"And Alya, while you're over eying up the food, can you grab the tablecloth?" Marinette called. "That and the clips. Once the tablecloth is on and secured, we can set all of the food out."

Alya nodded, diving into the box of food. She came up seconds later with the plastic tablecloth. "More snowflakes! There's a distinct lack of red and green going on this year, I noticed."

"Yeah, well, not everyone celebrates Christmas." Marinette accepted the tablecloth and started unfolding it, tossing one side to Adrien so that he could help spread it over the table. "And I tried last year to keep our party from being specific to any particular holiday, but all it took was a _little_ bit of red and green and a picture of a Christmas tree and all of a sudden everyone was calling it a Christmas party. So I wasn't going to give an inch on that this year."

"And it worked, I think," Adrien chimed in. "Everyone is calling it a holiday party. Or a winter holiday party. Or just a winter party."

Ms. Bustier was smiling. "That's very thoughtful of you, Marinette. I know several people in our class celebrate other holidays instead, and it's nice for them to feel fully included in the class celebration."

Marinette couldn't hide her pleased smile. It had maybe taken a bit of work to ensure that all of their activities would be fully _winter_ instead of suggesting Christmas at all, but it had been worth it. Both Nathaniel and Sabrina had seemed very happy without all of the Christmas imagery hanging over them.

"Unfortunately, I don't think everyone who brought food _quite_ got that memo," Alya called from where she was digging in the food box. "We have Christmas tree-shaped sugar cookies."

Marinette sighed. Those, she knew without even looking, were from Rose. Still, Rose had meant well. "At least it's just the one thing."

"And gingerbread men, too."

"To be fair, I don't think those can be considered strictly Christmas unless they're frosted like Santa," Adrien pointed out. He snagged the packet of tablecloth clips from where Alya tossed them, giving the tablecloth one last tug to straighten it before starting to clip it in place. "They're regular winter holiday cookies, just like the Yule Log cake."

Marinette laughed. "I'm starting to think that your definition of 'not specific to any holiday' is more based on what your stomach wants to eat."

Adrien's exaggerated pout in response made her laugh even harder.

Slowly, the table filled up. Bags of popcorn were combined into one large bowl, bags of chips were set up, platters of cookies were uncovered and arranged, and the punch bowl was brought out and filled up. Plates and silverware- proper ones instead of paper and plastic, thanks to Chloe and her father- were stacked at one end of the table, and cups for the punch went at the other end. The Yule log cake was the last to go out, sitting proudly at the end of the table. Shaved chocolate for the bark dusted the top and sides, and smooth chocolate frosting covered the cake itself.

It looked _fantastic_.

"I can't wait to eat that," Adrien said, arranging the last of the discarded packaging in the now-emptied food box before coming over to stand next to Marinette. He slung a casual arm over her shoulder and Marinette leaned into his side, relishing in his heat. It was perhaps a little chilly in the building and Adrien- well, Adrien was _warm_. He also had a very snuggly sweater on. "All of this looks delicious. And the classroom looks great, too."

"Yeah, people really did a good job with the snowflakes." Marinette glanced around, smiling at the snowflakes hanging from the yarn strung across the classroom. They were all sorts of sizes and colors, ranging from delicate and lacy (thank you, Rose and Mylène) to large, chunky, and haphazardly smeared with glitter (_a la _Kim). "And Nathaniel's snow scene looks great."

"It really does," Adrien agreed."Speaking of our classmates, I think people are coming up. I hear a distant rumbling of feet."

Sure enough, there was a chattering in the hallway that was slowly getting louder. The first of their classmates started coming in, Rose wielding a bag of party games that she had no doubt hidden in her locker as she trotted in at the head of the pack. There were a lot of excited faces in the group, especially as they caught sight of the spread of food. Alix and Kim still had glitter paint smeared across their faces as they came in (and Kim was missing a chunk of one eyebrow- based on the somewhat scrubbed appearance of the glitter glue around it, she suspected that he had tried getting the glitter off and failed), and several other people had pulled on holiday sweaters. People started serving up right away, excitedly opening the bags of chips and piling their plates high. Nino bypassed the line to set up the playlist that Marinette had asked him to make, the wintery music filling the room within seconds. Rose started singing along, and it wasn't long before several other people chimed in.

Looking around, Marinette couldn't help but be pleased at how the party had come together. Everyone seemed to be having fun, the classroom looked _amazing_, and it - well, it was well worth the last-minute hassle of putting things together. If she took a step back, ignored everything else going on in the other side of her life, and stayed entirely in the moment, well...

It was _really_ starting to feel like the holidays.

* * *

_a/n: woo winter holidays! No more school to work around! Coming up: an Adrinette "date"- or is it a date, no quotation marks needed?_

_I did really want to find a vision simulator thing to link to what I envisioned Madam Tsurugi's vision would look like when she finally quit fencing, but none of the ones that I found were as customizable as I wanted. Buzzfeed's 20/20 vs 20/200 vision article does have good visuals with what vision looks like at the legal definition of blindness (at least the blurry legal definition- having a certain amount of vision restriction/tunnel vision also is defined as legally blind, even if the vision remaining is relatively clear) if anyone is curious- human shapes are hella blurry, but at close range still just distinguishable enough to follow._

_As always, reviews make my day!_


	21. Two Faces, Two Lives

Adrien's first day of their winter holiday started with a bit of a lay-in. He deserved it, after the past two and a half weeks of utter _chaos_. He slept until ten-thirty, when he was rudely woken up by a cascade of socks falling on his face.

"Was that _necessary_, Plagg?" Adrien demanded, shoving the socks aside with a grimace. They _definitely_ hadn't all been cleaned. In fact, a couple smelled like they had maybe been grabbed from his fencing bag. He _really_ needed to get that cleaned out and put things through the wash. "I was sleeping!"

"No, you were laying on your bed with your eyes closed, ignoring the world. There's a difference." Plagg zipped around his head. "And _obviously_ it was necessary. I thought you were going out with Marinette today for lunch. Even if she's only your fake girlfriend, don't you still need time to get ready?"

Adrien's yelp as he flung himself out of bed was all the answer Plagg needed. The mischievous kwami sniggered and went back to sampling his cheese stash as his Chosen made a mad dash for the bathroom.

"I should have set an alarm," Adrien groaned as he caught sight of the clock on his counter. _Ten-thirty!_ That was so late! He was meant to be meeting Marinette at eleven-thirty so that they could go out for pizza together. It was a casual "date", set up partly to get their friends off of their backs about asking when their next date was, and partly because both Adrien's parents and Marinette's had been wondering the same thing, but Adrien didn't want to be late. It would give a bad impression, and he _really_ didn't want to do that if he wanted there to be a possibility of real dates in the future.

That was one more thing to add to his winter break checklist, actually. Once the Purple Lady was taken care of, he needed to talk to Marinette and see if she was interested in _actually_ dating. She might not want to, or not want to right away, of course- the press would no doubt make themselves an utter _pain_ after his father's arrest, and he had to be upfront with her about his crush on Ladybug, too- but eventually. If she wasn't interested, well...

Then they would have to discuss how they might "break up" without having to deal with well-meaning but misdirected friends and family members trying to keep them together. The best approach would no doubt be to take advantage of the upheaval that they would all assume that he would be going through to take a "temporary break" and then not get back together. He would rather _not _have to use that excuse, of course, but it didn't hurt to be prepared.

Adrien was in and out of the shower in under ten minutes (_thank you, plenty of practice with needing to rush thanks to akumas messing up his schedule_), and then it was a scramble to dry his hair, comb and style it, figure out what he was going to wear and get dressed, eat a _very_ light breakfast (it wouldn't do to not have room for pizza, after all), and then fly out of the house with both his kwami and his wallet. Thankfully Marinette's house wasn't far, and he got there with a couple minutes to spare.

"We just got her up a little while ago," Mrs. Cheng told him as he came in. "She must have been staying up late studying for the past few days. So she might be running a little behind."

"I got up late, too," Adrien assured her cheerfully. "And I could have kept sleeping, too. It's completely understandable."

"Understandable, but she should have set an alarm. We wouldn't want you arriving to find Marinette still fast asleep in bed." Mrs. Cheng waved him past the counter, passing him a croissant as he passed. "Go on up. Just have her text me when you two leave, so you don't have to go out via the bakery."

"Of course, Mrs. Cheng!"

Adrien trotted upstairs, munching on the croissant as he went. Marinette wasn't in the kitchen yet when he got there, but her trapdoor was open. Adrien headed up, giving the ceiling a knock before sticking his head in.

He was greeted by a somewhat frazzled fake-girlfriend. Marinette was frantically combing her hair, dressed in a cute winter jumpsuit. She waved before going back to trying to get a tangle out of her still-wild hair. Adrien grinned- a year ago, she would have probably panicked (delightfully) at him seeing her in such a disheveled state, but now she was calm.

Well. Mostly.

"I overslept!" Marinette told him, finishing up with her combing in a few more quick strokes and pulling her hair into her usual pigtails with a grimace. "I'm so sorry, I maybe should have gone to bed earlier but I had some stuff to get done and then suddenly it was late and then I didn't set an alarm and apparently I was _really_ tired."

"Perhaps we should have a date that consists of the two of us snoozing on your couch," Adrien suggested with a laugh. That sounded _really_ good now, but his stomach was all set for pizza so they couldn't change plans now. "With fuzzy blankets and lots of pillows."

Marinette let out a happy sigh. "Oh, that sounds _amazing_. Like a proper holiday break date. Nothing fancy, just _recovering_. And there would be snacks and maybe some movies playing in the background..."

Adrien nodded. He _needed_ that. They would have to do that once he no longer had to worry about akumas and could spend the whole day utterly disconnected from the rest of the world. Maybe it wouldn't be an _entire_ day- he knew that his mom was itching to get out and walk around, and he would definitely want to accompany her- but a good chunk of one, at least.

Marinette excused herself to the bathroom, and Adrien headed back downstairs to wait for her in the kitchen. Once she was fully ready to go out ("And I'm not even _that_ late, either! See, it's still not noon yet!"), she snagged an orange from the fruit basket on the counter before joining Adrien at the door.

"I can't _start_ my day with pizza," she told him as they headed down the stairs, peeling her orange as she walked. "But if I have this on the way there, then it'll be fine."

"Yeah, I had a really light breakfast, too," Adrien agreed. "I knew we would be going out right after, but pizza for breakfast? No thanks."

It came as no large surprise when he spotted Alya following them two blocks after they left Marinette's home. Apparently Marinette's friends were _hugely_ invested in their relationship, which... well, it was a little intimidating, to tell the truth. He didn't like being watched, and it put on additional pressure for the two of them to actually work out.

At least he could point right to that when people asked why he and Marinette hadn't shared the news at first. If they were just going to get _watched_ all the time, they were perfectly justified in trying to avoid that.

"They're going to follow us in," Marinette murmured in Adrien's ear, giving a small jerk of her head in Alya's direction. Presumably there were several of the other girls with them. "I _would_ say that we probably shouldn't have told them at all, but that would kind of..."

_It would kind of defeat the point of going on the date at all_, Adrien finished mentally when Marinette trailed off. Of course, they could have not told anyone beforehand and then just posted pictures afterwards. Maybe they could do that next time.

Assuming, of course, that there _would_ be a next time before the final confrontation and the entire city finding out who was behind Hawkmoth and the Purple Lady's masks. Adrien frowned at the thought, then forcibly shoved it out of his mind.

Right now, he was on a (fake) date with an incredible girl, and fake or no, he was determined to enjoy it. He would not distract himself with worries about what would happen in the future after his father was arrested or concerns about _anything_ in his secret second life. Worrying would make it harder for him to keep up the facade of his normal, everyday life.

"Ignore them," Adrien suggested. "With any luck, they won't be seated close to us. We can just hang out like last time and enjoy ourselves, and then they can read too far into any and all interaction that they see."

"Sounds like a plan!"

Thankfully, the pizza place hadn't filled up completely yet when they arrived. The two of them were seated at a small, square table, clearly designed so that they could sit across from each other. Adrien considered it for a moment, then pulled his chair around to the side so that he and Marinette were sitting on adjacent sides, close enough to be able to hear each other better over the chatter filling the room. The tables weren't too crowded together, so he wasn't getting in anyone's way with the move.

"Can we do lighter toppings?" Marinette asked, already perusing the menu. "Like, veggies instead of meat? I feel like it might be better since neither of us have really eaten breakfast yet."

"I like the way you think." Adrien held out a fist for Marinette to bump. "Red onion and, uh, maybe spinach? Feta?"

Marinette reached over the table, grasping Adrien's hands and staring at him with a serious look on her face. He was really concerned for a moment- had he said something wrong? Was she allergic to red onions or something? He didn't _know_, they hadn't ever discussed that but they had been friends for a while so he _should_ know, maybe- before she finally spoke.

"We are being pizza buddies _forever_. That is my absolute _favorite_."

Adrien laughed, the tension leaving his shoulders. "Oh my _gosh_, Marinette. You worried me for a second there. I thought that I had insulted you somehow or something."

Marinette was giggling. "No, not at all! It's just that whenever I get pizza with Alya, she always wants to put sardines or something and we end up either having to have the pizza split with half her toppings and half mine or just going for something really plain. And the other girls are the same- we can _never_ decide on what toppings to choose."

"Well, there _are_ a lot of options." Adrien glanced down at the menu. "I would add garlic, too, but considering that we both just got up..."

Marinette's grin had turned sheepish. "Oh. And I was about to ask if you maybe wanted to get some garlic bread to go with our pizza."

Adrien laughed. "I was going to go for a salad to go with it, actually, but if you want garlic bread, go for it."

"Oh, a salad _does_ sound like a better idea," Marinette admitted, glancing through the menu again. "Garlic bread _is_ a bit heavy for what's essentially brunch. And. Uh. It probably wouldn't make our breaths smell particularly good, either."

It only took Adrien a moment to figure out what Marinette was thinking about, and when he did, he grinned, leaning forward to press a kiss to the tip of her nose. "Aw, Marinette! You mean you wouldn't want to kiss me if my breath smelled like garlic? I'm hurt!"

Marinette laughed, leaning forward to return the gesture. Adrien went cross-eyes for a moment as he watched her. "I _suppose_ if both of us had garlic breath, neither of us would notice the smell, would we?"

"Mmm. Probably not." Adrien nearly asked if she wanted to test that theory before deciding against it. It really _was_ too early for garlic bread. "Oh, here comes our waiter. Have you decided what you want?"

"Yeah, I think so."

It didn't take long to order, and then Adrien glanced around the room as their waiter left, wondering where their shadow had gone. It didn't take him long to spot them- Alya, Rose, and Mylène, all jammed around a small table. There was no sign of Nino, which was- well, at least his best friend wasn't as overly interested in his relationship as Marinette's friends were. That was a relief.

It was also a sign that Nino might have actually listened when he and Marinette had talked about being concerned about going public with their relationship, so Adrien pulled his phone out and shot off a quick text to Nino, complaining about the stalking and how he and Marinette had been worried about the additional pressure and what was this if not additional pressure?

Maybe Nino would text his girlfriend and get her to at least _think_ about backing off.

"Are you sure you wouldn't rather spend the time with- uh, with you-know-who?" Marinette asked, pulling Adrien's attention back to her and amending her question halfway through with a cautious glance around. "I mean, we've been so busy the last couple of days that I feel like you haven't gotten a lot of time to see her."

Adrien smiled. It was so kind of Marinette to think of that, but he would have _so_ much time with his mom once this was over. Besides, he was going over to the Grand Paris after the date, probably right away, and he would be there for dinner. But instead of saying all that, he decided to tease Marinette a little bit.

Just like any good boyfriend would. _Obviously_.

"I think I'd rather spend the time with my lovely girlfriend rather than Voldemort," Adrien said, hiding a grin when Marinette immediately groaned. "I've heard rumors that he's not terribly friendly. Or nice. Or, y'know, alive."

"I was trying to be careful, you absolute nerd!" Marinette complained. "And you know it."

"Okay, but can you blame me? I couldn't let that opportunity go to waste." Adrien grinned at her, reaching over to squeeze her hand. "You're sweet to wonder, but I'll see her _plenty_ over break. Later today, for one, and then probably at least once a day after that. I'm sure she'll want to see you again, too."

Marinette looked happy. "She liked me, then?"

"It would be impossible _not_ to, honestly." Adrien grinned over at her. "And she's really friendly, honestly. She doesn't just up and decide to dislike people like Father does. I'll definitely be spending Christmas with her."

One thing that was odd, Adrien noted as Marinette nodded in understanding, was the way that Marinette never pressed about anything involving his mother. He would have thought that a natural follow-up question would be if his father was going to be joining Adrien and his mom at the Grand Paris for Christmas, but Marinette _hadn't_ asked. Not that he _wanted_ her to, of course. How was he meant to explain that no, his father couldn't leave the house and see his mom because Nathalie might catch on and that would be the worst thing that could possibly happen? He _couldn't_. He would have to either lie and say that yes, his father was definitely coming over, or come up with some other answer.

Maybe she just suspected that there was more going on than he was letting on. It probably wouldn't be a _super_ hard jump to make for someone as wonderfully perceptive and empathetic as Marinette.

It didn't take long for their pizza and salads to arrive, and in that time Adrien got a response from Nino, apologizing for his girlfriend and swearing up and down that he had _tried_ to dissuade her from tailing them but clearly failed. Adrien told Nino to tell Alya that if they couldn't cut the stalking out, he and Marinette were going to go back to not telling people when they were going out on dates.

The clear yelp from the general direction of Alya's table three minutes later told him that his message had been delivered.

Between the two of them, Adrien and Marinette polished up both of their salads and the pizza. They had ended up with one slice left and, after spending a minute trying to give it to the other person, ended up sharing the slice. And, naturally, they hadn't just cut it in half and each taken half.

No, they had decided to eat from opposite ends, Lady and the Tramp-style. There had been a lot of giggling and a lot of bumping noses as the piece got progressively smaller, and Adrien was sure that some of the people at nearby tables had been less than impressed by the display. But he _really_ didn't care.

He enjoyed being able to be silly with someone else, and Marinette instigated the silliness just as much as he did. That helped him not feel as self-conscious as he no doubt would otherwise.

"Look, it's snowing," Marinette said as they packed up, pulling coats and hats on. "We'll have a proper white Christmas this year, it seems. It'll be gorgeous."

"It will!" Adrien agreed, leading the way out of the restaurant. He didn't miss the way that one certain booth leaned away as they passed, hiding their faces behind slices of pizza and a book. "I've always wanted to have a snowball fight in the park. My parents never allowed it, but I've gotten more freedom recently, it seems."

Marinette made a face. "Snowball fights are overrated. They're all wet and cold and _ugh_."

"You could just watch from a safe distance and cheer me on," Adrien suggested, pushing the door open and wincing at the change in temperature. It was _chilly_ outside. "Or sit and laugh as I get completely soaked through, whichever happens."

"I like the hot chocolate and cookies after a snowball fight. I can watch and then join you for that bit." Marinette tugged her scarf up to cover more of her face as they headed up the block. "Or hot soup and cheese sandwiches. That's really good, too."

Adrien laughed. "How can you think of food right now? I'm stuffed!"

"It's just what I normally have!"

They were a block away from Marinette's house when the akuma alert on their phones went off. Adrien's hand went to his pocket automatically to silence it, mentally bemoaning the end of their date and the end of his being able to pretend that he was just a normal boy.

"We have to get inside," Marinette said at once, grabbing Adrien's hand and tugging him into a run. "The streets are never safe anymore."

Adrien let himself be tugged along, but his mind was already racing. He couldn't go inside with Marinette, because there wouldn't be any way for him to get away again. And he _needed_ to get away, because Ladybug and Chat Noir needed to be on the scene ASAP, and before they could get there they needed to round up their second string of superheroes. And considering that Chloe could be _anywhere_ in the city right now, getting a mani-pedi or having her hair done or doing some Christmas shopping, he had to move fast.

"Actually, I just got a text from the Gorilla," Adrien said quickly before Marinette could pull him inside. "He's right around the corner, because he was going to pick me up and bring me over to see Mom this afternoon. He'll know where the akuma is and how to avoid it."

Marinette frowned, glancing around. "Really? I don't see him yet."

"He's almost here," Adrien insisted, feeling terrible about having to lie to Marinette, but this was _really_ important. That was another reason why he couldn't get into a _real_ relationship right now- if he felt bad about lying to her now, it would be _worse_ if they were actually dating. "I know the route that he's taking, I can meet him halfway. But you should go inside."

"If you're positive." Marinette looked around again, one hand on the doorknob to her house. "You know that if you want to stick around until the Gorilla gets here but you think it would be too hard to see from the door, you can always hang around in the bakery."

"I'll keep that in mind."

"Stay safe!"

Adrien nodded, waving to Marinette as she went inside. He hovered for a moment to make sure that she was actually in, then turned and bolted, slipping slightly on the wet sidewalk as he made a beeline for a concealed alleyway. The streets were clearing quickly as people rushed home or found shops to take shelter in, which made it easier for him to get away unnoticed.

"Plagg, eat up and then I have to transform," Adrien said, pulling out a hunk of Camembert and handing it to his kwami. Plagg dove for the cheese, and while he ate, Adrien scrolled through his phone, taking note of where the akuma was. A text to Chloe confirmed that she was at the hairdresser's, but they were delaying her appointment so that she could go out and save the city. He sent off a text to Marinette, claiming that his driver had picked him up, and then he put his phone away, straightened, and rolled his shoulders, focusing on the job ahead.

After all, superheroes didn't get holidays.

* * *

It had been a while since they had a minion-creating akuma, and Chat Noir had to say that he hadn't missed it. He wasn't in the direct line of attack this time- once again, he was partnered up with Dragoness to face off against the Purple Lady, and he was keeping a careful eye both on her and on the akuma. Across the road, on the other line of rooftops, the other members of their superhero team were torn between fighting the akuma and knocking away her minions as they scaled the buildings, determined to get to the superheroes.

Surprisingly, there weren't that many minions. Apparently people had moved inside quickly enough to limit the number of possible victims.

Still, they were having some issues. The second string of superheroes didn't have great weapons for knocking the minions back, having to push them back down to the street one by one. Queen Bee looked particularly frustrated.

If he were over there, he could clear huge portions of minions in one easy sweep. That would clear up more people to help Ladybug. But he couldn't leave Dragoness alone, even if she _had_ all but taken over the fight with the Purple Lady and left him as back-up.

Unless...one of the other second-stringers came over to take his spot. They wouldn't be able to keep the Purple Lady back for long, but Dragoness would only need cover for a few seconds so she could recover in case she was knocked down. She didn't _need_ to have someone who was just as strong of a fighter as she was there, just someone who could buy her a little time.

Hopefully she would figure out what he was doing.

Chat Noir glanced over again, this time catching Queen Bee's eye. Plan decided, he jerked his head. She caught on at once, planting her heel in the face of one more minion as she leapt over the road and landed next to Chat Noir as he somersaulted backwards out of the fight. She shot a _very_ nervous look towards the Purple Lady, but it was only a second before she straightened her shoulders, resolute. "Yes?"

"You're on backup now," Chat Noir told her. "I'll take your place dealing with the minions. Dragoness can probably carry the fight, but if she gets knocked off at all, you'll have to fight long enough for her to get back up on her feet. Try to keep the Purple Lady busy enough that she can't try to cast any spells- and _get out of the way_ if she manages to get enough of an opening to cast. Can you do that?"

"I'll do my best, Chat Noir!"

Chat Noir flashed her a brief smile before taking a running leap across the street, immediately jumping into action. Minions went tumbling within seconds, knocked aside by his staff. Rena Rouge and Carapace cheered when they saw him.

"Go help Ladybug!" Chat Noir called over his shoulder. "I'll keep the rooftop clear!"

Much to his relief, there was no argument. They dashed over to Ladybug, weapons at the ready. Chat Noir glanced back across the street to make sure that Dragoness and Queen Bee were still doing all right- they were, and he had to wonder if Dragoness had even noticed the switch in her back-up- before lengthening his baton and pushing back the possessed citizens, knocking them down like bowling pins. Behind him, there were shouts as some of Rena Rouge's and Carapace's attacks landed, knocking the akuma off-balance.

Oh, they should have gone with this arrangement _ages_ ago. Having him team up with Dragoness for her first battle had made sense, of course- they didn't know how absolutely _ amazing_ she would be at it- but now that they knew that she could hold her own, they could use the other second-string superheroes to watch her back so that he wasn't wasted during a battle.

...though perhaps Queen Bee had been a poor choice. Her dad would be less than pleased about the superheroes putting her anywhere near the Purple Lady. She had her Sting, though, so that should be enough to keep her safe.

"_Lucky Charm!_"

Chat Noir glanced over in time to see some sort of slingshot drop into Ladybug's hand. Judging by her delighted grin, she had already picked out how she was meant to use it. Chat Noir was almost tempted to watch, but another wave of blank-eyed minions was making their way up the sides of the building and he couldn't spare a moment.

He felt really, _really_ bad about whacking innocent civilians around like this, but Ladybug's Miraculous Cure would undo all of the sprains and broken noses and bruises that the minions got when they tumbled back down to the street.

"Carapace, block it! _Now_, while they're down on the street! And Rena- _now!_"

The sound of both superheroes summoning their powers reached Chat Noir's ears, and he had to wonder why they hadn't done it before. Maybe Ladybug had assumed that they would be able to figure out when and how to use them on their own, like he often did, and they had been waiting for instruction instead.

It didn't matter now, at least. Carapace's force field slammed down around them, blocking the minions down below. Rena Rouge's illusion bloomed out around them, creating duplicate superheroes and confusing the akuma as the _real_ superheroes ducked and wove around them. Chat Noir dove into the fray, dodging the frantic blasts from the akuma's weapon as she tried and failed to hit any real target. Behind the akuma, Chat Noir saw Ladybug pull back her slingshot and let go, sending a handful of broken shingle bits straight at the akuma's blaster. One piece made contact with a _BANG!_, and the weapon cracked. Seconds later, the corrupted butterfly peeled itself free.

Chat Noir blinked as the force field and the illusions promptly vanished, clearly recalled by their casters. As Ladybug threw out her yo-yo to purify the butterfly, he spotted Carapace and Rena Rouge leaping across the street, making a beeline for the Purple Lady. She noticed and shoved Dragoness back, getting her arm cut in the process but clearly not noticing at all as she made a dash for it. Rena Rouge and Carapace followed in hot pursuit, ignoring Ladybug's calls for them to come back.

Chat Noir's heart dropped. As long as the Purple Lady had been busy fighting Dragoness, her hands and focus had been occupied and she hadn't been able to cast any spells. Now that her hands were free, she _could_.

And neither Rena nor Carapace knew neither that nor how to block those curses, _and_ their transformations would come undone in only a couple minutes. And, actually, they _knew_ that second bit, so what were they _thinking?_

"Carapace and Rena, back here _now!"_ Chat Noir bellowed. "Drop the chase! You only have a couple minutes left of your transformations left!"

Finally, _finally_ the two superheroes slowed down. Chat Noir caught a flash of purple as the Purple Lady escaped, but he was less concerned about that than he was the slightly sour looks on Carapace and Rena's faces as they turned back to join the group.

"Well, I certainly wasn't expecting _that_," Ladybug said as she joined Chat Noir. A little belatedly, she cast the cure, undoing the damage from the akuma. Behind her, Queen Bee was bringing the akuma victim back down to the street. "I mean, I noticed that they seemed a bit off during the fight, taking more risks than they should have and not using their powers until I told them to, even though I had told them at the start to look for openings where they could act. But I didn't think that they would go off on their own like that."

Chat Noir frowned. "I wonder why they've decided to act out _now_. D'you think that they're sour about Dragoness being so good and being able to go up against the Big Bad, even though she's just started out?"

Ladybug shook her head. "I doubt it. But I know them in real life, and I know they've been frustrated about how the Purple Lady is getting all the holiday celebrations in Paris canceled. So they might be trying to force an end _now_." She frowned. "And now we're going to have to explain more than I wanted to, which... well, I would have told them more before, but I don't want to risk _anything_ getting out. And they, uh..."

"You think that they might let something slip," Chat Noir finished. _That_ was less than ideal. They should be able to count on their team not to spill anything. They had certainly been able to keep Chloe up to date without any ill effects, though then again, if it weren't for the fact that Mrs. Agreste was involved, he doubted that she would be _nearly_ as close-mouthed about it. "...at least Duusu is improving and we'll be able to finish things up soon, right? If they _do_ let something slip, surely it would only get to a few people before we end things, right?"

Ladybug looked less than convinced.

"We could have caught her!" Carapace complained as he and Rena Rouge landed on the rooftop. "If everyone else came with us, we might have actually been able to win for once."

"Your timers are running out," Ladybug reminded him, a note of steel running through her tone. Chat Noir resisted the urge to wince. Oh, she was _ticked_.

Rena Rouge only barely flinched. "We wouldn't be running down if you taught us the spell to keep the transformation going!"

Carapace nodded heatedly. "Exactly! What does it matter if _half _of the threat is gone once we've defeated the akuma? That's not solving anything! All you do is come out, deal with the akuma, and let her run away _again!_ Are we going to spend the rest of our lives like this, getting called out to fight for our lives? I say we go after her and end this!"

Queen Bee and Dragoness exchanged a look but neither said anything, which Chat Noir was grateful for- though he couldn't deny that he was a little puzzled, too. Queen Bee knew why they weren't bothering to go after the Purple Lady yet, but Dragoness at least would be curious, right?

Maybe she still felt too new to question the more established superheroes.

Ladybug's lips pressed into a thin line. Her eyes narrowed when their Miraculous gave another beep. "We need to get you down to street level to detransform."

"But-" Rena started, but a nudge from Carapace stopped her. They both still looked slightly mutinous as they waved good-bye to the other heroes and jumped down to the street, with Ladybug right behind them. She had clearly activated the spell to keep her transformation, which was smart. No doubt she would have to answer at least _some_ questions to keep the peace.

He didn't envy her, not at all.

"Chat Noir, I _really_ have to get back to my hair appointment," Queen Bee said, tapping at his shoulder. "Can I give my Miraculous back now?"

"Yeah, yeah, of course." Chat Noir glanced back at Dragoness. "Uh..."

"I will remain here until Ladybug returns," Dragoness promised.

Chat Noir nodded, and he and Queen Bee jumped down to the ground. It took no time at all for her to detransform and return the Miraculous, and then he poled his way back up to the rooftops. As promised, Dragoness was still waiting.

"I'm sorry you had to see that disagreement," Chat Noir said, heading over to stand with her. He kept one eye out, just in case the Purple Lady decided to return for the lingering superheroes. "We don't _normally_ have arguments like that."

"Do they not know that you're planning on wrapping up the fight soon?" Dragoness asked curiously. "I would think that they would be willing to wait a little longer to finish up the fight safely."

Chat Noir blinked. "...Ladybug told you that?"

"I had inquired about how frequently I would be needed and for how long after last fight," Dragoness told him. "It is not easy for me to slip away from my normal life without being noticed and getting serious consequences, and I wanted to know if there was any end to the fight in sight. Ladybug told me that there were plans in place to end it and that you know who she is."

It had probably helped that Dragoness had expressed her concerns in (what sounded like, at least) a calm, straightforward manner instead of flagrantly ignoring directions like Rena and Carapace. Still, it was a _little_ surprising that Ladybug had apparently told their newest teammate more than their (slightly) more experienced ones.

"Well, I'm glad that you can come out and help us," Chat Noir said instead of expressing any of that. "You're a _fantastic_ fighter. To be able to go up against the Purple Lady like that? We should have brought you on board sooner."

Dragoness looked pleased. "Thank you. I've been training with a sword- well, a fencing saber- for my entire life. I can't deny that the transformation gives my skills an extra boost, though, and it's _definitely_ needed. I've never seen someone fight like the Purple Lady- it's like she doesn't even have to _think_ about her attacks. It's entirely reflex, no reaction time necessary, and she clearly has no conscience holding her back. _Very _hard to fight against. I can tell that you're quite a good fighter, too," she added. "It is obvious that you have some fencing background, even though you're fighting with a staff instead of a sword."

"It's a bit different," Chat Noir agreed. "I miss the hand guards sometimes, but my staff is _so_ useful."

"Much more of a multi-use tool than a sword." Dragoness cracked a smile. "Though I can't deny how _thrilled_ I was to see that I had a sword with my transformation. I was worried that I would get a 'weapon' like the others, and I _really_ don't have the slightest idea of how I would fight with a yo-yo, or a top, or a _flute_, or a shield. Or how I would fight alongside others- I'm trained for one-on-one." Her smile turned sheepish. "So I was quite happy to be assigned to the Purple Lady, as odd as that sounds. And today, with Queen Bee as backup- I think that was actually _easier_ than trying to trade off the fight with you."

"It takes some practice to make the shift, yeah." It was nice to have someone who could understand the shift between fencing bouts and all-out battles. He had to watch himself in fencing class now, making sure that he actually followed the rules and didn't just fight like he would as Chat Noir. "And Ladybug must have known that, to match Miraculous and position up so well. I did have my doubts when she just threw you in the deep end with the Purple Lady, but-"

"-it was definitely the best position for me," she finished. "She has quite the head for strategy, doesn't she? Whoever picked her did quite the good job."

Chat Noir was about to nod in agreement when Ladybug landed back up on the rooftop, looking a little cross as she tucked the Fox and Turtle Miraculous back in her yo-yo. She mustered up a smile for Dragoness, though, and Dragoness offered Chat Noir a wave before heading off with Ladybug. Chat Noir waited, and this time it was less than a minute before Ladybug returned.

"This is possibly the worst time for Rena and Carapace to rebel," Ladybug said with a sigh as she joined Chat Noir, offering up a fist for him to bump. "But I told them that we were working on some things to finish the fights and we were getting close, so I would appreciate their patience and cooperation."

"Dragoness said that you told her that we know who the Purple Lady is and that there's a plan to end the fights," Chat Noir said searchingly, returning the fist bump before catching Ladybug's hand in silent question. She finally smiled.

"Compared to Rena Rouge, Dragoness is a veritable safe. I probably could have told her _everything_ and as long I requested it stay secret, she wouldn't have told a soul."

Chat Noir laughed, the stress from the fight finally sliding off of his shoulders. "Rena is a little chatty, then?"

Ladybug's smile turned wry. "Oh, you have _no_ idea."

* * *

_a/n: What's gotten into Rena and Carapace? I'll give you one clue: it starts with an L and ends in an A. Surprise, surprise. It's that connection that also has Ladybug not wanting to tell them as much- if Alya thinks that Lila knows Ladybug, she might think that it's fine to tell Lila exactly what is going on because 'of course Ladybug would have told her already!', which wouldn't be great.  
_

_As always, reviews make my day!_


	22. A Plan in Place

Adrien arrived home in the middle of the afternoon, only to have his father send him straight back out, looking positively harried as he tucked an envelope into Adrien's hand and gave the Gorilla instructions to bring Adrien to the Grand Paris.

Adrien was willing to bet that Nathalie was in a mood and a half after being defeated, so he wasn't about to argue.

The hotel staff let him in without any questions, and Adrien was glad that his friendship with Chloe provided the perfect excuse for him to come and go whenever he wanted. If he were anyone else- or if he and Chloe _hadn't_ been friends- then he would no doubt get stopped and informed that the hotel was neither public property nor a playground and that he needed to be a paying guest to come in. Which- well, that was fair enough, he supposed, but it would be _really_ inconvenient.

It was a good thing he had kept up his friendship, then, even though there had _definitely_ been times when (truth be told) he probably should have ended it.

"Darling!" his mom greeted him, delighted when she spotted him at the door. She let him in right away, accepting the envelope that he held out to her right away. She opened it and skimmed over the contents quickly before tucking it away again. "How have you been? You had a date earlier, right? I would have thought that you would still be spending time with Marinette!"

"We've been spending a _lot_ of time together, Mom," Adrien pointed out with a laugh. "We need to be apart _sometimes_, it's healthier. Besides, I think she still has Christmas presents to work on, and once she's done with that, her parents own a bakery- they could probably use the extra help at the front counter."

"Oh, _fine_." Mrs. Agreste huffed out a breath. Then she brightened. "But your date- tell me about it! Where did you go, what did you do, did you have fun?"

Adrien grinned as he started talking. As always, his mom always listened attentively as he talked, asking questions and commenting and offering advice. He told her about the situation with Marinette's friends following the two of them around now that they had broken the news, and she promised to sleep on it and come back with a suggestion about what he might do to get them to back off so that he and Marinette didn't need to feel self-conscious about what they were doing.

...not that they had necessarily been self-conscious in the first place. After all, they _had_ shared that one slice of pizza without really considering what other people would think and they had been _very_ silly about it.

Marinette was probably going to get interrogated about that, actually. Unless Nino actually got through to Alya and got her to reconsider, there was no _way_ that that would pass by unnoticed.

The afternoon positively _flew_ by, and then it was time for dinner. Chloe had brought a menu up to Mrs. Agreste's room so that she could order things, and she had stuck her head in nearly an hour earlier to tell them that she was going out to dinner with her father but she had told the kitchen staff to make up whatever Adrien ordered and put it on her father's account. Adrien would bring their orders downstairs, wait until they were finished, and then borrow a cart to bring everything up to Mrs. Agreste's room. He would bring it back down with the empty dishes, thank the staff, and then head home for the night.

His mom was a _lot_ better, she really was. But she still tired more easily than normal, so an early bedtime was important.

"It's a good thing that their menu is so varied," Mrs. Agreste said as she and Adrien perused the options. "I would get rather tired of having the same thing over and over. As it is, I'm looking forward to having some of my old favorites at home. Do we have the same chef still, or has your father managed to scare another perfectly good employee away?"

Adrien honestly didn't know, but he hadn't noticed any changes in the food at all and their chef hadn't been akumatized, so it was probably a safe guess to say that they still had the same person. "The same, I think."

"Oh, thank _goodness_."

As he slipped out the door with their orders in hand (the kitchen staff _had_ to be wondering what was going on- Chloe had been ordering extra meals for a week), Adrien spotted his mom taking out the note again and reaching for the phone that Chloe had bought for her.

_Huh. _Was it something superhero-related, then? Was his father trying to pass a message on to them?

Well, he supposed that if it was, he would find out soon enough.

"There will be a thirty-minute wait minimum before your order is ready," the head waiter told Adrien when he got down to the restaurant. "Probably closer to forty minutes. We're quite busy at the moment."

"That's fine," Adrien said hastily, feeling Plagg vibrate in his pocket. Ladybug must be trying to message him. "Uh, I'll plan for forty and be back then, maybe? There's no rush."

The head waiter smiled. "That sounds like a plan. Thank you for your patience."

Adrien nodded before rushing off. He ducked into an empty stairwell, then let Plagg out. "Did Ladybug call?"

His kwami yawned loudly. "Yup. I'm not a voice message machine, though, so you'll have to transform."

"Yeah, I figured. Plagg, transform me!"

His kwami zipped forward into the ring, and the transformation washed over Adrien in a flash. He didn't waste any time in calling up Ladybug.

"Can you get over to the Grand Paris?" Ladybug asked as soon as she picked up. He could see the scenery behind her bouncing as she ran over the rooftops. She glanced down at her screen, then frowned. "Are you already there?"

"I was having dinner here," Chat Noir admitted. "But food isn't meant to come for another forty minutes, so I have time- is there another akuma?"

Ladybug shook her head. "No, thankfully. But Mrs. Agreste has a message from Mr. Agreste that she wants to pass along to us. I figured that as long as you're free, we might as well both go and talk with her. Master Fu said that Duusu has healed enough to transform again, so we need to all be on the same page."

Chat Noir perked up. Duusu had recovered? That was fast, but he had also had a _ton_ of fruit. Mr. Agreste had sent _tons_ of the stuff to Master Fu, and both Chat Noir and Ladybug had spent time shuttling the order from Master Fu's friend's house back to his apartment. And that recovery... as best he knew, it meant that they would be ending the fight with the next battle. "How close are you?"

"I'll meet you on the rooftop in two minutes?"

"That sounds _purr_-fect, My Lady."

Ladybug grinned and nodded before cutting off the call. Chat Noir stick his baton on his back again and then took off up the stairs, jogging past a few startled hotel guests. He flashed a smile and a nod to each of them, hoping to reassure them that there wasn't another akuma out and about. Once he got to the rooftop, he could slow down and relax. With it so cold out, no one was lingering on the rooftop.

Well, no one except for superheroes. Ladybug landed in a puff of snow, slipping and wheeling her arms for several second before Chat Noir caught her. She shot him a sheepish look and a nod of thanks, and he offered her his arm as they headed across the rooftop towards Mrs. Agreste's balcony.

"Busy day," Chat Noir commented as they dropped down onto her balcony. "I had a thing this morning, then there was the akuma attack, and then I was, uh, catching up with a family member, and now there's this."

"And it's only the first day of break," Ladybug said with a laugh. "Just imagine what the rest of break will be like!"

He could only groan. "Not like this, I hope."

Mrs. Agreste spotted them and raced over to the balcony door to let them in, a smile on her face. Both of them knocked the snow off of their feet on the welcome mat before going in to perch on the couch. She closed the sliding door and made sure that it was firmly shut before joining them, picking up the envelope that Adrien had given her earlier.

"Gabriel sent me a letter earlier," she told them. "He wants my new phone number, so he can text me as soon as Nathalie heads up to the lair in the future, so I can let you two know. That should help speed up the response time."

"So we can hopefully grab our second string _before_ the akuma really shows up," Ladybug filled in, grinning. "And the Purple Lady has gotten used to us taking ten to fifteen minutes to show up after the akuma really breaks out, so coming earlier would put us at an advantage. Which we'll need, since..." She glanced over at Chat Noir. "Duusu has recovered enough to transform. Unless I'm mistaken, that means that next time there's an akuma, we're aiming to finish things for good."

Mrs. Agreste perked up. "It's going to finish? That- that's fantastic! That means- maybe I'll be able to go home by Christmas!"

"It also means that Mr. Agreste and Nathalie would be in jail for Christmas," Ladybug pointed out. "...though I can't deny that they, uh..."

"They deserve it," Mrs. Agreste finished. "They _knew_ that there were other options, Gabriel in particular. Nathalie- well, Nathalie I could forgive, once she's been cured. She didn't _know_." She paused. "So, uh, did you decide about the Peacock...?"

This time, it was Chat Noir's turn to smile. "We've discussed it with our mentor, and he agrees- having _you_ as the Peacock would be even more effective than just having _a_ Peacock out. And you're already familiar with the powers, in case that's needed."

Mrs. Agreste's face positively lit up as she heard the news. "Oh! That's great!"

"Do we want to do a bit of planning before Chat Noir and I leave?" Ladybug asked, looking back and forth between the two of them. "I mean, deciding how the final battle is going to go? I can't imagine that we'll have a lot of time to talk after we get the text from you."

"Sure," Mrs. Agreste agreed. "But only quickly. My son is getting dinner for us right now, and I don't know how long he'll be gone. He doesn't know that my reappearance has anything to do with the Miraculous yet, and I'd like to keep it that way for a bit longer."

Chat Noir tried not to laugh as Ladybug nodded seriously and jumped right into planning mode, clearly already envisioning a battlefield and moving players around. Her nose wrinkled in thought as she judged the different team combinations and how she would have to prep each person to switch out at a moment's notice, talking out powers and fighting strengths, as fiercely focused as always. His mom nodded along, jotting down notes and making the occasional suggestion.

They were trying so hard to keep things secret from him, but they didn't know that he was right in the middle of things. He had known as soon as his father detransformed just how tightly his family was tangled up in the whole Miraculous mess.

At least there would be an end to all of the secrets soon.

* * *

Adrien had been sent back home after dinner with another envelope, this one to deliver to his father. He had listened in when his mom was composing the letter, right before he and Ladybug took off, so he knew exactly what it said. And it was _brief._

It contained a short greeting. It contained a phone number. It contained a heads-up that they were aiming to have the next akuma fight be the last one. It hadn't even been finished with a signature.

He was getting the feeling that his mom was still a _bit_ ticked about the whole supervillain thing.

With his father waiting for him in the atrium when Adrien returned, it wasn't hard for him to deliver the letter before bidding his father good-night and making a beeline to his room. More than anything, he wanted to wash up as fast as he could before landing face-first in bed, but a superhero's work was never done. Even when he was _meant_ to be on holiday.

(_Especially_ when he was meant to be on holiday, it seemed.)

In one hour, he was meant to be meeting with Master Fu and Ladybug in Master Fu's apartment. Their mentor apparently wanted to talk to them to do a bit of review on their fight earlier in the day and also talk a bit about the upcoming final fight. Why that couldn't wait for tomorrow, Adrien didn't know (unless Master Fu had clients all day, in which case... well, he could understand then, he supposed), but it meant that his bedtime was going to get pushed back more than he wanted.

_Fantastic_.

"Think of all of the sleeping you'll be doing with no akumas to fight," Plagg offered helpfully. "No supervillains, no early morning photoshoots- because let's be real here, there's going to be too much upheaval for a while at the company for any photoshoots to be scheduled. Your mom will probably let you reschedule any piano lessons that you have early in the day, too, and then I heard your girlfriend talking earlier about a snoozing date with pillows and blankets and cuddling."

"Friend. Fake-girlfriend," Adrien corrected automatically. He smiled. "But yeah, it sounded _amazing_ and I hope we can do that. I've never napped next to anyone before- well, not on purpose, anyway, accidentally falling asleep next to Nino doesn't count-"

Plagg yawned loudly. "You mean you've never napped _with_ anybody, I think. Nino's never been asleep when you topple over snoring on him during class."

"I don't _snore!_"

"If you say so, kid."

Sighing- that was the best answer that he was going to get out of Plagg, probably- Adrien wandered towards the bathroom, wondering what he could do while he waited for it to be time for him to go over to Master Fu's place. He couldn't wash up _too_ much- no doubt Master Fu would greet the superheroes with his normal cup of honey-sweetened tea and perhaps some snacks, so brushing his teeth now had no point- but he _could_ wash his face and change into pajamas, since he was going to be transformed and it didn't matter what he was wearing. He could take a shower, too, but he had _just_ taken one that morning and he would dry his hair out if it got washed too much.

So naturally, once he had done all he _could _do to wash up for the night, Adrien flopped down in his chair and pulled up the Ladyblog.

There wasn't anything posted about today's attack, which was surprising. An earlier post had confirmed the cancellation of the holiday market (Adrien clicked on it; while vendors were of course disappointed about not getting their usual spike in business from the market and many had already made preparations to go, leaving them overstocked, they were also relieved because no one wanted to be in the Purple Lady's way and with the way the crowds always were at the market, it would be hard to make a hasty exit) and also included a list of other activities that were getting cancelled. There were some Hawkmoth-Purple Lady comparisons, and an article on theories about how the Purple Lady had gotten the Miraculous from Hawkmoth and if they had been working together before and where Mayura had gone, since there was no sign of the Peacock's powers on the battlefield. There was also a blurb on Dragoness, though no one had gotten any good pictures of her yet, and an article wondering how many new superheroes Ladybug and Chat Noir were going to add to their team before they finally took the Purple Lady down and ended the fight for good. That one in particular sounded like Alya was starting to question Ladybug and Chat Noir's judgment.

"I wonder if Rena Rouge and Carapace saw that article, and that's why they were acting up today," Adrien told Plagg. "I mean, I can kind of see where they were coming from, looking from an outside point of view, but we needed another teammate so that Ladybug and I could focus on the akumas, because just having three people against the new akumas wasn't cutting it. And having a second person with Dragoness is _necessary_ so that she can catch her breath when she gets knocked aside. We can't give Nathalie any breathing room to try to cast spells."

"Well, the public always pretends that they can do better, don't they?" Plagg took a large bite of cheese, swallowing it loudly. "They don't know everything. It would have been dangerous to go after the Purple Lady after the akuma was defeated. Ladybug had used Lucky Charm and was holding Tikki in, and using another spell on top of that would have _exhausted_ Tikki."

Adrien winced. "Then next time, during the last fight..."

"Ideally we won't need any extra spells." Plagg floated over to perch on Adrien's shoulder. "No transformation extensions, no shields or counter-spells. And we'll take out the Purple Lady_ before_ the akuma. In theory, it should lose a bit of its direction and drive once Nooroo has been rescued. Ladybug will still have to use the Cure, of course, but then Tikki and I get to rest and eat like _royalty_ and not transform for a bit and then we'll be as good as new."

"We'll still have press stuff to do, and appearances to make," Adrien pointed out. He frowned at the comments under the article- apparently Alya wasn't the only one who thought that the superheroes should be chasing after the Purple Lady once the akuma was dealt with. There were even some complaints about how, if the superheroes had chased her down already, the city's annual holiday celebrations might still be on. "And _clearly_ we'll have to do a bit of explaining about why we were holding off on the final battle, because otherwise we'll be ending on a bit of a sour note, with all of these people wondering why we haven't acted before."

"Ladybug might have some ideas for suggestions before the final battle, without letting on to the Purple Lady that things are going to change soon," Plagg suggested. "And speaking of Ladybug, it's time to go. Unless you were planning on staying in that chair all night?"

Adrien hauled himself up with a yelp. "I'm coming, I'm coming!"

It was snowing still as Chat Noir dashed across town, doing his best to stay up on the rooftops and out of sight. He rarely took a direct route to Master Fu's, of course, preferring to mix it up so that no one (_read: Alya or any other reporters_) would catch on, just to be safe. A flash of red ahead of him caught his eye, and he looked over just in time to see Ladybug dropping down behind Master Fu's apartment. He sped up, and it wasn't long before he was somersaulting through Master Fu's window and onto the floor.

"Close the window and come into the front room!" Wayzz told them as Chat Noir shook off the snow from his suit. "Master Fu is waiting for the two of you there. He said this shouldn't take long. He has more power-ups for you, just in case, and he wants to get more detail on the plan that Ladybug texted him earlier."

"It _still_ never fails to amaze me that Master Fu knows how to text," Chat Noir said as they followed Wayzz to the front. "Like, in all of the shows and books and- and _everything_, they make it seem like old people are just completely hopeless with technology, either because they can't understand it or they don't care to try to understand it. But he seems to have a handle on it."

Ladybug giggled. "It varies from person to person, really. My No- my grandma is _really_ into technology. She loves all the advancements. My grandpa, though, _he's_ hopeless with it. My papa bought him a cell phone a few months back and he only ever turns it on if he's out of the house and needs to call someone right away. Which is never."

Chat Noir quirked an eyebrow at her. "Doesn't that get expensive, paying for a phone plan for a phone that doesn't get used?"

"It's pre-paid and charges per minute or per text sent, not that he ever texts anyone, either."

"And Master Fu is very good with technology in some ways and not in others," Wayzz chimed in. "Sometimes he forgets that he can text and so sends me to deliver a message for Ladybug."

Ladybug laughed. "And he's not the only one, considering that you never remind him that he has a phone, Wayzz!"

Both superheroes laughed as the turtle kwami pouted. He finally sniffed and zipped ahead, and Ladybug and Chat Noir hurried along after him.

"You two look like you've had a long day," Master Fu said with a laugh as they came in and sat down. "I certainly apologize for calling you over, but we never know when the Purple Lady going to strike next and the next battle is going to be anything but normal. As I let Ladybug know earlier, Duusu is recovered and ready to transform again, and we even have a holder ready- though I _will_ have to go over there and reset the bond before Mrs. Agreste can do anything with the Miraculous."

"Oh, right, I had forgotten about that," Ladybug commented. "And here I was about to offer to run it over to the hotel tomorrow so that we would have one less place to go when the next akuma pops up. I guess I need more sleep if I'm forgetting details like that."

Master Fu laughed. "I'm sure you're both looking forward to not having your days interrupted by akuma attacks. And I won't keep you _too_ late tonight, I promise. I just wanted to go over a few things. Ladybug, Wayzz reported that Rena Rouge and Carapace were becoming impatient?"

Ladybug groaned. "Yes, and I know _exactly_ where that attitude is coming from- there's a girl at their school who keeps making up stories and- well, she doesn't like us much, and apparently she decided to draw a bunch of attention to how we never chased after the Purple Lady, which would be the obvious way to end the fights for good."

Chat Noir winced. Oh, _that_ sounded like Lila. He was definitely looking forward to seeing her getting cut down to size when they visited the embassy.

"Are they reliable enough to use again for the final battle?"

"I might be a bit annoyed with them on both sides of the mask but as long as they get tied up with the akuma instead of getting an opening to go for the Purple Lady, I think they'll be fine," Ladybug assured him. "And I did tell them that we had a plan in the works, and that I needed them to focus entirely on the akuma and not worry about the Purple Lady."

"Good. Changing now would be hard." Master Fu glanced between the two of them. "And Dragoness is working out well, it seems. She's a strong fighter, and those strengths compliment Longg's nicely."

Chat Noir nodded in agreement. Ladybug had been kind of terrifying with the sword- he could picture her charging into battle and hacking away with the sword, holding it in both hands- but Dragoness clearly knew what she was doing with it. It was _also_ terrifying, but in an entirely different way.

"And Queen Bee seems to be behaving herself," Master Fu continued. "She didn't try to go after the Purple Lady, but then again she has a better picture of what is going on."

"Chloe's been a surprisingly good choice," Chat Noir said, glancing at Ladybug. "Now that she's gotten settled, she's focused and she takes orders well. Though I think it helps that people _know_ that she's a superhero and she gets all sorts of special exemptions for it. If she had to miss out on her appointments and get scolded for missing class, that might be a different story."

"Oh, _definitely_."

Master Fu smiled at them. "All right! I think that's all of my pressing questions there. Ladybug, as far as planning for the final fight goes- make sure you aren't _too_ set in the details of any particular plan. You want to be flexible, because no one fight is like any other. I noticed today, you required a mid-battle switch-out. It took longer than I might have thought for it to happen, because you were in an arrangement that had worked before and that you expected to work again."

"We'll definitely tell people to be on the lookout for a signal to switch," Chat Noir said quickly. "That was my fault today, it didn't even occur to me that my staff would be far more useful against the minions, because I was so focused on making sure that Dragoness was doing all right."

"Good, good. In that case, I just had one last thing to put forward for consideration. In _any_ battle, and in particular a final battle, there can be a lot of havoc. It is possible that powers will be used and someone might detransform. It could be a surprise and a distraction then." Master Fu smiled at them, suddenly more relaxed. "And we're close enough now to a final battle that the danger of knowing who the other is has passed. So would you want to do a reveal now to eliminate the possibility of that distraction, or wait?"

There was a pause as that sunk in.

"Now, if you're ready?" Ladybug said, glancing towards Chat Noir. "I mean, I think it would be a good idea to know, both so there's not that surprise and so we can let each other know right away when we get the word that Nathalie is headed up to transform."

Chat Noir swallowed, suddenly nervous. After all, he was the son of the former Hawkmoth. Their former arch-enemy. The man who had created this entire mess. Also, he was in his pajamas.

But she was _Ladybug_. His partner. His friend. She had been so worried about Mrs. Agreste, and so kind, and not judgmental about _her_ relationship with Hawkmoth. He could trust her, through thick and thin.

Chat Noir nodded, letting out a shaky breath. "Ready."

Master Fu sent him an understanding smile, no doubt knowing exactly what was running through his mind. Chat Noir took a bit of strength from that. Their mentor wouldn't suggest a reveal if he thought that it would negatively impact their relationship.

"C'mere, Kitty," Ladybug said, holding out her hands. Chat Noir took them and tipped his head towards her. She stepped closer, pressing their foreheads together. "On three?"

He nodded. "On three. One, two, three-"

"_Detransform me_."

Their transformations released. Ladybug sucked in a small breath, followed by a giggle. "Kitty, open your eyes."

He hadn't realized that he had closed them. Adrien forced himself to breathe, then opened his eyes. Bright, _familiar_ blue eyes met his.

_Really_ familiar. They weren't just _Ladybug's _eyes.

"Marinette!" Adrien exclaimed, startled, and then he turned absolutely delighted as the realization sunk in. "_Marinette!_ Oh my god, I can't believe-" Unable to stop himself, he pulled her into a tight hug, pressing a kiss to her forehead. "_Wow_. This is-my two favorite girls- you're _incredible_\- can we go on a date? Like, I know we were just out today, but a real one?"

Marinette was giggling. "You don't waste any time, do you, kitty?"

"You're lucky he didn't get down on one knee and propose," Plagg said, popping into existence over Adrien's shoulder. "Because he totally _would_. He's been talking of _literally_ nothing else but Ladybug and Marinette for _months_."

"Hey!" Adrien protested, because that was frankly unfair and also more than a little misleading. "No, I- Plagg, I've talked about more stuff! Classes, and my mom, and this whole supervillain mess, and-"

"Blah, blah, yeah, yeah, yeah." Plagg waved off his concerns. "But when you look at the _proportions_ of how much you yabber on about your human friends, you talk about Ladybug and Marinette _twice_ as much as anyone else. And that's not when I combine the two of them, either."

Marinette had her face pressed into Adrien's shoulder to muffle her giggles. "You're hopeless, Kitty. But yes to the date- _if_ you're sure that starting to date right now would be a good idea. You've got a _lot_ going on in your life right now, Adrien."

Adrien paused, trying to look past the glee of _she said yes!_ to give her words some proper thought. He _did_ have a lot going on, between learning about his father, his mom, and Nathalie. His father would be going to _jail_, which was a pretty major, life-changing event. But getting his mom back was a good thing (and she already saw Marinette as his girlfriend), and they were going to cure the Heart curse on Nathalie. It wasn't _all_ bad. "Normally, I would say that you're totally right. It _is_ a lot, and adding more could be hard, but I've known about everything for the better part of a month. And everyone already thinks that we're dating."

"They decided that the best way to have a ready-made excuse to get out of things in the evenings was to fake-date each other," Plagg told a clearly amused Master Fu in his best long-suffering voice. "Except the only _fake_ part of it was the name. Apparently people still make out with each other if they're fake dating."

Adrien spluttered indignantly. "It- we- we never _made out_ with each other! We kissed _once!_ Once, Plagg!"

"Okay, but you _dreamed_ about sucking face more than that-"

"And I think it's time for Plagg and I to go home!" Adrien announced suddenly, taking one large step from Marinette. She was getting steadily redder, though whether it was from embarrassment or from trying not to laugh he wasn't certain. "Good night all, it's been a good talk. _Bye!_"

"Good night, Chat Noir!" Master Fu called after Adrien as he dashed for the exit, ears practically on fire. In his hand, Plagg was cackling. "Don't be _too_ hard on Plagg, now, you'll need him for the final battle!"


	23. An Early Holiday

Adrien's second day of winter break _also_ started with him sleeping in a bit later than he normally would. He hadn't been able to fall asleep right away once he got back to his room- the revelation that his good friend/burgeoning crush/fake girlfriend was actually his superhero partner who he had been in love with for pretty much their entire fighting career had kept him up thinking for quite a while- and as a result, well, no one could _really_ judge him _that_ much for sleeping in for the second day in a row.

Ladybug-Marinette had turned down his advances as Chat Noir because of a boy she liked in her civilian life, but she had agreed to go out with him at once when their identities were revealed. Add that on to the fact that she clearly had no problems with getting close to him when they were fake-dating- the cuddling, the forehead and cheek kisses, the kiss on the _lips_\- and Adrien was wondering if maybe, _possibly_, _he_ might be the one that Marinette had liked.

He hoped. He really, _really_ hoped.

"Plagg, since Marinette is my Lady- that means that Rena Rouge and Carapace are probably people that I know, right?" Adrien asked, finally pushing himself up in bed and trying to stop reading too far into his kiss with Marinette. "Because Marinette would pick people that she trusts, and she would only trust people that she knew really, really well, and I know everyone that she knows- or at least I _think_ so."

"You probably don't know _everyone_ that she knows, but sure, you probably know everyone that she knows and trusts enough to give a Miraculous," Plagg said with a yawn. "So if you gave it some thought, you might be able to figure it out."

Adrien frowned in thought as he got up out of bed, promptly getting distracted when he ran one hand through his hair with a grimace. He _really_ needed to get a haircut soon, but Nathalie was the one who normally scheduled his appointment and, well, if he had to guess, she hadn't exactly been doing her normal duties for a while now.

...maybe he should ask his father if he knew the number for the hair salon, and he could call them up himself to try to schedule an appointment. Then he could actually look properly tidy for the holidays and his and Marinette's first proper date, whenever that might be. It would also give him something to do that _wasn't_ lazing around in anxious wait for the final battle, and actually having something to do would be good.

It didn't take long for Adrien to get up once he finally got going, and then he headed down for breakfast. He was still puzzling over Rena Rouge and Carapace when he entered the dining room, and so he nearly missed seeing his father sitting at the table already.

"Good morning, Adrien," Mr. Agreste told him, and Adrien startled. When he turned to his father, Mr. Agreste was just barely hiding his amusement. "Do you have plans today?"

"I- uh-"Adrien started, before catching himself. Even if his father _did_ seem to be making an effort to not be so snappish lately, that didn't mean he would be impressed by stuttering. "I was thinking of trying to schedule a haircut, because I've not had one in a while and my hair is starting to get a bit shaggy."

"It _is_ a bit on the long side and tidier hair is certainly in at the moment," Mr. Agreste agreed. "I can call that in. Hopefully they can take you early this afternoon, because I thought that we might have an early Christmas celebration tonight."

Adrien's head shot up, all thoughts of temporary superheroes properly gone from his head. "I- really?"

"I thought it might be a good idea." Mr. Agreste's neutral expression wavered for a moment before steadying. "After all, I know you were talking about wanting to take Marinette out on a date to see the holiday market- or, well, whatever celebrations they still have on, I suppose- so you'll have that evening busy, and then I'm sure you'll want to spend the holidays with Marinette's family. Or in the Grand Paris," he added, with a glance to either side. "I won't be able to come, I don't think, but you will."

With a start, Adrien realized what his father was doing. It was more likely than not that Nathalie would create an akuma before Christmas proper, and when that battle was over then Mr. Agreste would be turning himself over to the police. He would be in jail for Christmas, so if he wanted for them to have one last Christmas together then they had to do it early. "Oh. Okay."

"I sent your bodyguard out to get a tree," Mr. Agreste continued. "And had the maid dig out our old box of Christmas ornaments. I thought we could decorate later this afternoon, then do gifts and dinner."

Adrien froze. He hadn't even _thought_ of buying gifts this year. By his normal holiday shopping time, he had known about his father being Hawkmoth. He and Ladybug had been planning on taking down Mayura before the holidays. And then once she threw a wrench in the works, well, it had slipped his mind. But surely he could come up with something to buy while he was out getting a haircut. "That sounds nice, Father."

"Great." Mr. Agreste stood, pushing his empty plate away. "I will go check on setting up a haircut for you and make sure that the chef is on the same page about dinner tonight, and then I'll let you know what I learn as soon as possible. Breakfast is on the cart- watch your fingers when you pick up your dish, because the chef put it on a warming plate."

With that, Mr. Agreste turned and headed out of the room. Adrien watched him go- seriously, if he hadn't know _exactly_ what was going on, he would have guessed that the body-snatchers had gotten to his father- then headed over to grab his breakfast. There were a couple potholders on the cart, so Adrien made sure to use them when he grabbed his plate. After switching off the warming plate, he headed over to the table to take a seat.

"So now I've got to brainstorm ideas for a gift for my father that he can actually use in the next couple days," Adrien said, picking up his fork and digging into the hash browns that their chef had prepared. "...any ideas?"

Plagg snorted as he swiped a spoonful of cheesy eggs off of Adrien's plate. "Why bother putting that much thought into it? He's not put any thought into your gifts for the last several years."

Adrien bit his lip, setting his forkful of food back down and playing with it instead of answering. Plagg was right- his father _hadn't_ put any thought into his gifts for a while, so why should Adrien bother now? But the reminder that this would be their last Christmas celebration together for a while- or _ever_, depending on what the courts decided- hung heavy over Adrien's head, and there was still a part of him that didn't want to let his father down. _Besides_, Mr. Agreste was clearly trying to make an effort today, and Adrien didn't want the evening to end on a sour note just because he hadn't gotten any sort of gift for his father.

He would have to text Marinette for ideas. She might have some suggestions about what he could get that wouldn't cost too much.

It wasn't long before Mr. Agreste returned with the news that Adrien had a hair appointment set up for 11:30, and Adrien thanked him before returning to his breakfast. It was more of a brunch, considering the time, and clearly their chef had accounted for that with the types of food served. Adrien dug in, fighting with Plagg over the eggs before finally giving up and letting his kwami have free rein.

There were times when he actually _missed_ not having a kwami, and times like this made up the majority of those times. At least Plagg would have to behave once his mom returned home.

...unless he told her, too. Considering that she was a superhero as well, it was possible that she would either figure it out or Master Fu would encourage telling her. It would be _great_ if he could tell his mom about his superhero activities, actually, because then they wouldn't have to dance around the whole Hawkmoth issue.

Breakfast finished and plates stacked back up on the cart, Adrien headed back up to his room. He loitered around for a while trying to figure out what he could do to kill some time before he remembered his current connundrum of _gotta find a present _and, after a good twenty minutes of trying to brainstorm and coming up blank, he decided to call up Marinette.

Thankfully she was actually up this time.

"Morning, kitty!" Marinette said cheerfully. "What's up?"

"Maybe I just wanted to hear your gorgeous voice," Adrien said at once, grinning at the squeak at the other end of the line. Then he sobered. "Father decided to have our Christmas early and celebrate this afternoon- well, evening, really- and he mentioned decorating the tree and having a Christmas dinner and exchanging presents and Marinette, I didn't buy anything for him this Christmas and I don't know _what_ to buy and I don't want to get anything _too_ expensive, obviously, since he's not going to be here for much longer, but I don't want to seem skimpy, either. And I don't have much time to decide what I want to do for it, either, because I only have a couple hours before he'll be expecting me back at the house and I have a haircut taking up part of that time."

"I told him just to forget about it because his ass of a father doesn't deserve it," Plagg chimed in, right in Adrien's ear. "But he's ignoring me."

"No, I can understand wanting to get him a present," Marinette said at once, and Adrien let out a sigh of relief. _She_ understood, at least. Unlike Plagg, Marinette wasn't going to roll her eyes at him for wanting to get a gift for his ex-supervillain father. "Does your father like any particular kind of sweet? Like a particular kind of chocolate, or pastry, or something like that? You could do that and a small gift- uh, a new sketchbook?"

Adrien couldn't help but smile. "This sounds like things that _you_ would like for Christmas, Princess."

Marinette spluttered on the other end of the line. "I- no- I mean, I was taking inspiration from things that I like, sure, but your father is a designer, too, and so I thought for something small..."

"Right, of course." Adrien gave it some thought. "Uh, I know my father loves chocolate oranges, but they're only really available at this time of the year and sometimes he forgets about them since they aren't offered regularly. So I could get that and- actually, I'm not sure about the sketchbook. He gets a zillion of them through the company."

"_Lucky_. I'm always having to rush out and get new sketchbooks last-minute because I forget to stock up on them and then I finish one right when I have a bunch of ideas to work out." Marinette sounded grouchy. "Okay, so no on the sketchbook. And probably no on clothing, too- sometimes I get my dad a tie for a present, but only if I find a really ridiculous one with a bread pattern on it or something."

Adrien laughed, trying to imagine the look on his father's face if he opened his Christmas present to see a bread-patterned tie. "Where do you even _find_ those?"

He could hear the smile in Marinette's voice as she answered. "A novelty shop on the east side of the city. All of our patisserie ornaments are from there, too- oh! You could get him an ornament! Those can feel personal, all without breaking the bank. I know a lovely shop- I'll show you after your haircut, maybe? Just text me where the salon is and I can meet you over there."

"You are an _actual_ lifesaver," Adrien breathed. "Seriously. Lifesaver. That sounds _great_. But I think I have to go right now," he added as a knock sounded at his door. "See you soon."

"Of course!"

Adrien wasted no time in grabbing his coat and wallet before heading downstairs to meet the Gorilla. A Christmas tree leaned against the banister, still trussed up from the drive. His driver wasted no time in ushering him to the car, and then Adrien was on his way to the salon. Twenty-four minutes later, he left the salon with newly trimmed hair. His father had apparently requested that his hair be cut a bit shorter than usual, and while Adrien might normally be irritated about not being consulted first, he couldn't deny that his new length looked _really_ nice.

"Oh, you look all neat and tidy!"

...also, his girlfriend clearly approved.

"You like it?" Adrien asked with a grin, doing a quick model turn around. "I do too, but I can't quite put my finger on why."

"You look a little older with the shorter hair," Marinette said, running her fingers through Adrien's bangs before rocking back on her heels. "Are you ready to brave the shops? Things are mad right now."

"I wouldn't expect anything less, honestly." Adrien reached out, twining his fingers with hers and starting down the sidewalk. "I looked up where to buy the chocolate oranges on the drive over, and it's nearby. Where is the shop with the ornaments that you were talking about?"

"Same direction, only a bit of a walk." Marinette tugged her hat down to cover the tips of her ears a bit more. "It'll be worth it, though. And it's not _crazy_ cold outside or anything, so a walk is nice."

Adrien nodded in agreement, glancing around. The skies were mostly clear and there was only a light breeze, so they weren't about to freeze. There were a _lot_ of people out and about, too, which he probably should have expected. After all, it was both winter holiday _and_ a Sunday, so people wouldn't be at work. "Oh, there's the store, right across the street! I hope they still have the chocolate."

They did, but only just. Adrien snagged the last chocolate orange off of the shelf and trotted up to get in line at checkout with his prize, resigning himself to a long wait before Marinette rolled her eyes at him and dragged him over to the express checkout line. There were more people in line there, but it was moving a _lot_ faster than the regular lines. In no time at all, the two of them were back out on the sidewalk and headed for their second store. They got there, and...

Well, it was packed.

"Last-minute shoppers," Marinette sighed. "It doesn't help that, with the Christmas market canceled, people who might just visit the stall are coming to the physical store instead."

"Oh, does this place normally have a stall?" Adrien asked, interested. "That's cool."

Marinette smiled and nodded, leading him back towards one particular section. "Yeah, that's how I found out about it. What I like about it is that their ornaments aren't _strictly_ holiday. Like yeah, some are, of course, but they have a bunch of other stuff, too."

They reached the section of glass ornaments, and Adrien could see what she meant. Shelves of flowers and animals made up the first row. He glanced up and down, looking for anything that stood out. Most of the pieces were gorgeous but wouldn't have any sort of personal meaning to them. He spotted a delicate butterfly ornament among the animals, but- yeah, he wasn't even _touching_ that. Adrien wasn't meant to know about his father's supervillain activities yet, and it wouldn't be a good gift even if he _was_. There was an even _more_ gorgeous glass peacock, and Adrien _did_ pick that up.

He might have already gotten a present for his mom, but it was just too lovely to pass up.

"We can keep exploring," Marinette said as Adrien started glancing around again. "They have several more rows of ornaments, and there's all sorts of categories."

They looked. There were landmarks of Paris, there were ornaments representing all sorts of occupations and hobbies (when Marinette didn't pick up the ornament shaped like a croissant, Adrien figured that the Dupain-Chengs must already own one just like it), and there were all sorts of odds and ends. He hadn't been particularly blown away by the pincushion ornament, nor the ball of yarn, and so he found himself back in the first row, staring at the delicate glass flowers.

If he couldn't find anything at least _somewhat_ meaningful that he liked, he might as well go for something that was lovely.

Adrien was about to pick out a orchid ornament when a flower sprig right below it caught his eye. He set the orchid back down and picked the other one up, trying to figure out what had made it stand out. It wasn't _quite_ as showy as the orchid, but there was something about the sleek beauty that was familiar somehow. Adrien wracked his brain for a minute before he remembered. Of _course_. This was the kind of flower that his parents had featured most prominently at their wedding. He had grown up seeing it in all of their wedding pictures.

It was _perfect_. It was something that _both_ of his parents would appreciate. Once his father was in jail, his mom could still enjoy looking at it.

"This one," Adrien decided, tucking it carefully in his basket. "And I've already bought the rest of my Christmas gifts, so we're good to check out."

Marinette smiled, leading the way towards the front. "That's probably a good thing, honestly. The crowds are already driving me insane and I, uh..."

Adrien glanced towards her. "Do you still have shopping to do?"

"Not- uh, not _Christmas_ shopping, but the fabric store has some really good deals going on right now and I know that I'll have more time to make some of the designs that I've been stockpiling, so I thought that I might take advantage of that." Marinette shrugged sheepishly. "It'll involve a lot of waiting in line and of course I'll have to hope that, uh, you-know-who doesn't go upstairs, but some of the deals are too good to pass up on."

"Again with the Voldemort talk," Adrien complained, unable to keep his lips from twisting up in amusement when Marinette groaned loudly. He grinned at her, even as he made a mental note to find out the name of her favorite fabric store and get her a gift card, if not for Christmas then for Valentine's Day or her birthday. "I'd offer to come wait in line with you, but..."

"You have plans, I know." Marinette flashed him a smile. "I'm sure there'll be plenty of opportunities for me to drag you along fabric shopping in the future."

"I look forward to it, my Lady."

Fifteen minutes later, the two of them finally exited the store, Adrien's purchases boxed up and safely wrapped in bubble wrap. The streets around them were absolutely packed with cars trying to find parking spaces for their last-minute shopping, some of them clearly opting to drop someone off in the middle of the street rather than trying to find a spot. Adrien took one look at the mess, winced, and pulled out his phone to text the Gorilla with an alternate meeting place.

"If we head a few blocks north, we should be able to get out of most of this mess," Marinette commented as Adrien started to text. "My guess is that the pedestrian crowds will thin out once we pass the subway entrance, and then the traffic won't be quite so bad a little past that."

Adrien laughed as his phone lit up with a text. "Great minds think alike, it seems. The Gorilla had the same suggestion. Walk and talk? I had a couple questions that I thought up since last night and, well, we've not had the chance to really discuss any of it."

Marinette grinned up at him as they started walking. "Right, because _somebody_ made a break for it pretty quickly."

"Can you blame me? Plagg is out of control!"

Thankfully, the sidewalks didn't stay packed forever. Once they cleared out enough for the two of them to talk without being overheard, their conversation switched seamlessly from a lighthearted discussion of their favorite foods during the holidays to slightly more serious talk about their superhero lives.

"So I was wondering if I could know who Rena and Carapace are now," Adrien said, making sure he kept his voice low. "I was trying to figure it out, because I know most of the people you know, but the only people I was coming up with... well, then I remembered how the two of them were acting yesterday during the battle, and I thought it couldn't possibly be the same people."

Marinette winced. "Yeah, no, your guess is probably right. Let's hear it."

"Alya and Nino?" Adrien half-said, half asked. He couldn't believe that their friends would question Ladybug like that- Alya was the moderator of the Ladyblog! She looked up to Ladybug so much!- but then again, there _had_ been that one post on the Ladyblog that had kind of been questioning the superheroes' judgment. "Really?"

"Really," Marinette confirmed. She rolled her eyes. "I texted Alya after that fight, pretending that I had just seen the article and wondering where _that_ came from. Apparently Lila had been yabbering on about that and claiming that she had gotten into a fight with Ladybug since she was too reluctant to end the battles because it was why she was famous or some such nonsense like that." Her expression turned irritated. "I cannot _wait_ until she gets torn down from that pedestal of hers."

"At least her audience is pretty limited," Adrien offered, pulling Marinette into his side as they passed a group going the opposite direction. "And we can always do a superhero interview after everything is over and explain some of the thought process."

"Mm-hmm."

Adrien did his best not to grin at his girlfriend's distinctly disgruntled look. "Just remember that a certain gorgeous genius came up with the idea to go to the embassy and get Lila's lies torn down for once and for all, without any room for her to wriggle out."

Much to his satisfaction, Marinette blushed.

"So that's Rena and Carapace," Adrien mused, returning to their earlier topic. "And obviously we know Queen Bee-"

"The entire _city_ knows Queen Bee."

"-so that just leaves Dragoness," Adrien finished. He narrowed his eyes in thought, trying to remember everything that he knew about their newest teammate. "Someone who you said you didn't necessarily get along with that well in your civilian life, but know _of_ well enough to pick her out and trust her."

Marinette winced, glancing to the side. "I _did_ say that, didn't I?"

Adrien raised his eyebrow at that. _That_ was an interesting reaction. "And Dragoness told me that she has fenced for _years_, which narrows down that field of candidates unless you frequent other fencing schools around the city. So I'm going to assume that you're talking about one of my fencing teammates, and there's only one person on my team who's _that_ good of a fighter-"

Marinette was looking very, very uncomfortable now.

"-Kagami." Adrien tilted his head to the side. He hadn't known that Kagami and Marinette had interacted enough for Marinette to make a call as to whether or not they got along well, but sometimes it only did take a couple short interactions for people to be able to tell. "You were picking my mind when you were asking about her before, weren't you?"

"I knew she would be a good teammate but I didn't have any idea where she went," Marinette offered weakly. "Her school is _really_ confusing."

"Is it really? I've never been there." Adrien glanced over at Marinette again. She still looked uncomfortable and he didn't want to push it, so he changed the subject. "You know what? With Rena being the Ladyblogger- yeah, I don't blame you at _all_ for not telling her more. She doesn't always seem to think before posting things online. With a scoop like us finding out who the supervillains are, she might not think through the consequences of Nathalie finding out that we know."

"It was a bit risky choosing her in the first place," Marinette agreed with a wince. "She got her Miraculous and immediately started trying to interview me. And if she ever saw Tikki, I knew she would figure me out in a heartbeat. But I had to choose someone who I knew."

Adrien nodded. That made sense.

"And she was so over the moon about it, too. And it _did_ get her to stop trying to figure out my identity, at least for a bit." Marinette winced. "Though she _did_ nearly give hers away as soon as I saw her again because she was so excited."

Adrien laughed. "Yeah, thinking back to that night, she _did_ seem a little off when I returned the twins home. Really high-strung and her grin seemed practically pasted on. She's settled down since, though. And- oh, there's the Gorilla. Do you want a lift to the fabric store?"

Marinette shook her head. "It's way across town. I'll just take the subway." She rolled up onto her toes and pressed a kiss to his cheek as the Gorilla pulled up next to them. "Have a good evening with your father."

"Thanks." Adrien caught her chin before she could go far and gave her a light peck on the lips. He could feel her smile as he pulled away. "And thank you so much for helping me with the shopping. I was honestly lost."

"It's no problem at all." Marinette beamed at him, and Adrien found himself not wanting to leave her side. "Happy holidays, kitty-cat."

* * *

Their tree looked like an actual, _proper_, family Christmas tree for the first time in- in _years_, probably.

Instead of a plain string of white lights winding up a large tree with impersonal silver and gold ornaments, his father had pulled out the colored lights for the much more reasonably-sized tree. Then they had spent a good hour and a half going through his mom's collection of ornaments, ones ranging from the homemade to fancy store-bought pieces. A good mix had gone up, though some of the oldest homemade ones had been relegated to the back.

(Adrien couldn't argue with his father's decision there- why his mom had decided to keep his construction paper ornaments that he had made when he was three or four was beyond him, especially considering that he was no great artistic talent.)

"Now _that_ is a tree," Mr. Agreste said approvingly as the two of them stepped back to look at the finished product. "It looks good. I had forgotten, after so many years with the other decorations."

Adrien nodded, unable to resist snapping a quick photo of the tree to send to Marinette. He had to admit that he had been a bit nervous about spending so much time alone with his father once he returned from his shopping trip, since the two of them had been so distant for so long, but so far it had gone well. Nathalie had been sent home for the afternoon far before Adrien returned from his haircut and the Gorilla had been given the evening off as well, which meant that there wouldn't be any interruptions.

"And I think it's about time for dinner now," Mr. Agreste added with a glance at his watch. "If you want to go wash up..."

"Okay!" Adrien agreed at once. Now that his father had mentioned it, he _did_ feel a bit hungry. "I'll be back down in a few."

It didn't take him long at all to trot up the stairs and wash up quickly. As Adrien ran a quick comb through his hair, Plagg popped out of his jacket to watch.

"Your father is behaving himself tonight," Plagg said as Adrien did his best to shake out some of the loose bits of trimmed hair. He would have to take a shower tonight to get it all out, but he hadn't had the time after coming back from shopping. "Is this what he used to be like?"

"Ages and ages ago, yeah." Adrien checked his reflection in the mirror, then headed out to his room to grab the presents for his father. Since he wasn't good at wrapping, he had just put both the chocolate orange and the box with the ornament in a decorative holiday bag with tissue paper. "When he was moderately successful instead of a huge name in fashion. Once he was a bigger name, he started getting really hung up on appearances and all that. He got irritated sometimes even before he made it, but he could at least play nice most of the time. I'm- I'm glad that he's still _capable _of acting like that. I was starting to forget."

Plagg floated after him. "It's probably a good thing that you know what's happening. If you didn't know why he was doing this, it would be a bit of a whiplash to go from distant father to actual vaguely normal parent behavior to..."

"To going to jail for being a supervillain," Adrien finished. "It's _still_ going to be a bit of whiplash, I think. I mean, before all of this started, he hadn't been anywhere _near_ parent of the year material for a while. It was a shock to find out that he was Hawkmoth then, sure, but it wasn't coming out of nowhere. But now it's like- well, he _can_ act like father material still if he wants to." He made a bit of a face. "Though I still have to wonder how long he would be able to keep it up. Right now, he knows that there's an end date."

"You think it's all an act?"

"I think he's being on his best behavior so we both have a good memory before he goes to jail." Adrien scooped up the bag of presents, then waved Plagg back into his jacket collar. "Which I can't blame him for, I suppose." He adjusted his jacket one last time, letting out a long breath. Spending time with his father _shouldn't_ have been this stressful, but there were just too many secrets hanging in the air. "But never mind that. Let's go play happy family a bit more."

With that, Adrien bounded back out of his room and down the stairs. His father had put on Christmas music and a large package had mysteriously shown up under the tree. Adrien set his bag under the tree as well, then headed into the dining room. His father was already there, and places were set at two places opposite each other.

When was the last time that he and his father had actually sat down and eaten a meal with each other?

"I saw earlier this afternoon you were out with Miss Dupain-Cheng again," Mr. Agreste said as Adrien sat down and they started to serve up. "Another date?"

Adrien shook his head. "Last-minute shopping. She knew of a place that would have things that I would be interested in, so she came across town to show me."

Mr. Agreste's smile was small, but definitely there. "And did she comment on the haircut?"

"She liked it," Adrien admitted with a small duck of his head. He could still feel Marinette's fingers sliding through his hair and even if it hadn't been an overly intimate move, it was still his _Lady_ and the actual relationship was still new, so the memory made him blush. "A lot. It was a good idea."

Mr. Agreste smiled. "I had a feeling that it would be a good change. And you were on a date with her yesterday, correct?"

Adrien had to wrack his mind for a moment before he remembered that oh, yeah, that _had_ been yesterday. His father must still have alerts on for his name and some fan must have spotted the two of them. Thankfully no mobs had interrupted them.

If any mobs interrupted their dates in the future, there would be _hell_ to pay. Reputation be darned, if he had to yell at people to get them to back off then he _would_.

"It went well," Adrien said, belatedly answering his father's question. "We have similar tastes in pizza, which made ordering a lot easier. And we have a lot in common to talk about, too-" even more now that they had realized that the other was their superhero partner- "and so that was really nice. Some of our friends decided to spy on our date, though, so that was less nice."

Mr. Agreste frowned. "Will that be something that you'll have to deal with a lot in the future?"

"We decided that next time, we won't be telling people where we're going in advance," Adrien answered at once, impressed that his father was actually listening to what he was saying. Which- well, maybe that wasn't something that should impress him, but it _was _his father and he had only ever listened to Adrien with one ear at most for so long. "If they're going to be overly invested, we're not going to make it easy for them."

"Good, good."

Dinner positively _flew _by. They kept talking through the first half of the meal, then lapsed into a fairly comfortable silence when Adrien noticed that his father was starting to look tired of the conversation. Adrien was positively stuffed by the time the cook came to clear their plates, but then it was time to open presents. Two comfortable chairs had been moved into place by the tree, with a coffee table between them. Christmas cookies filled a plate in the middle of the table, and Adrien almost immediately regretted eating so much.

...at least he would get more cookies once it was _actually_ Christmas.

"For you," Mr. Agreste said, picking up the large package and passing it over to Adrien. "And the bag- is that mine?"

Adrien nodded, accepting his box. It was large, but not ridiculously heavy. As his father picked up his own gift bag and settled into the chair, Adrien started opening the box. He had gotten as far as pulling open both ends of the wrapping paper when his father let out a pleased hum.

"A chocolate orange! I had forgotten to look for them this year."

Adrien ducked his head, hiding a smile as he finished pulling his wrapping paper off. He was still working on the tape on his box when his father let out an exclamation.

"And a freesia! Oh, this is beautiful."

"I thought you might like it," Adrien said with a grin, looking up to see his father inspecting the ornament that he had purchased earlier. "I saw it on the shelf and I just had to get it."

"Thank you."

Adrien finally got his box opened and glanced into it, grinning as he recognized it as what it was. "Father! Thank you!"

"I remembered you once mentioning that it would be easier if you had separate bags for basketball and for fencing," Mr. Agreste said, the hint of what might have been a smile playing around his lips. "This one is specifically designed for fencing, from what I've read. Your sabre will be able to fit fully inside without a problem, as will a full-sized one once you reach that stage."

"Oh, cool!" Adrien unzipped the bag, peering inside. He barely took note of the (awesome) compartments inside of the bag before his attention was drawn to another, smaller wrapped box inside. It was another present, obviously, and Adrien drew it out curiously. He glanced at his father curiously, and Mr. Agreste gestured for Adrien to unwrap it.

So he did. Inside the box was a book of piano sheet music for rock pieces and a set of CDs with tips on how to compose and arrange new music. Adrien blinked at them, startled, then turned to his father for explanation.

"I know that you've practiced with a band at your school a few times," Mr. Agreste said, and Adrien could pick up on the stiff note in his voice that told him that, despite the gift, his father didn't fully approve of Kitty Section. "I don't pretend to understand the whole rock- metal, whatever- scene, but perhaps it's nice to have a change of pace when you're practicing every once in a while."

"It _is_," Adrien agreed at once, unable to hide his wide grin. "Thank you so much, Father!"

For the first time in _years_, his gift from his father was actually thoughtful instead of something dug out of a drawer at last minute. His father had clearly listened- recently, at least- to figure out what Adrien would like. He wouldn't have bothered if he hadn't cared at least a _little_ bit.

Maybe it wasn't anywhere close to how much _normal_ parents cared, but it was better than nothing. And Adrien would take it.

* * *

_a/n: ...what's that saying about the calm before the storm?_

_My apologies about the strange updating schedule right now- I just finished my fall job, then shifted over to catsitting my boss's cats for a week (which required packing all my stuff up and moving it out of the intern house and to my boss's house), and then in another week I'll finish with this and pack everything that got unpacked again, and do a three-day trip back home for the winter (I have grandparents and a brother living between here and home, so I'm not exactly hurrying). Add in NaNo and the fact that I'm applying to grad school at the moment and- yeah, even if everything is pre-written, sometimes stuff gets forgotten in the shuffle._

_As always, reviews make my day! :)_


	24. A Christmas Battle

The text came two days after Marinette and Adrien had gone shopping for a present for his father. Thankfully Marinette was free and her parents were busy with the bustling bakery downstairs, so it was no effort at all to quickly call up Adrien to make sure that he had gotten the text, too, and then transform and start racing across Paris.

Her first stop was the Grand Paris, where Emilie was waiting anxiously near her balcony door.

"I'm more nervous than I thought I would be," she admitted with a laugh as she let both superheroes in. "I just keep remembering what it felt like to transform before, and even though I _know_ it'll be different now, I can't help but worry. And I've never seen proper combat."

"You're more for a surprise element than for fighting," Chat Noir reminded her quickly, holding out the Peacock. "It's a good thing Ma- Jade Turtle came over yesterday to reset the bond. I know he mentioned being busier than usual recently."

Ladybug nodded as Mrs. Agreste took the Miraculous, letting out a delighted gasp as Duusu popped free. Master Fu's sudden uptick in business had been concerning in terms of making sure that their plan went off smoothly, but she couldn't bring herself to be _that_ surprised. People were taking off work now, wanting to catch their moments of relaxation while they could. Thankfully he had left his bracelet with her for just that reason- he couldn't exactly dash (or, well, his version of a dash. A speedwalk, perhaps?) out of his shop to pass it off to her when there was a client with him. He had worked all day, then gone to the hotel to meet up with Mrs. Agreste before eating a very, very late dinner.

His commitment was truly astounding.

"All right, I'll just go ahead and transform, then," Mrs. Agreste said, her eyes on Duusu as she pinned the Miraculous to the center of her shirt. "And I know to wait until I'm needed in the fight, so I'll keep out of the way. Duusu, transform me!"

With an excited squeal, Duusu dove into the brooch. Blue light lit up the room and when it cleared, Paon stood in the middle.

She cut a striking figure. Tall and slender, the base layer of Paon's blue suit clung to her just like Ladybug's. A skirt hung around her waist in blues and greens, open and shorter in the front and long in the back with a gorgeous feathered pattern half-hidden in the folds. Blue and green spiraled through her ponytail, and a sparkly blue and green mask hid the upper half of her face. Knee-high black boots and gloves stretching to her elbows broke the silhouette up.

"Okay, I feel underdressed next to you two," Ladybug admitted with a laugh. "I think my outfit might need an upgrade."

"Ooh, like what?" Chat Noir asked, interested. He glanced up and down Ladybug's suit, trying to imagine it changing. He was coming up blank. After fighting side-by-side with his partner for so long, that was just what Ladybug's outfit _was_.

"Like..." Ladybug thought about it, then frowned. "I don't know. I've looked like this for so long, I can't really picture it any other way."

Paon clapped her hands together. "Oh! I have some ideas that you might be interested in trying out. I can make sketches later, and you can see if you like any of them."

Ladybug beamed at her. "I would appreciate that, thank you. But for now, I think we have several more heroes to round up. You know the plan?"

"I'll keep out of sight," Paon promised. "And Jade Turtle told me how to track you guys on my fan, so I can find where the fight is. I'll be there."

With that, the superheroes headed back out. They had done a quick Miraculous swap earlier, so Chat Noir could grab Queen Bee, who would be easy enough to find in the hotel, and Dragoness, who...

Well, he had her number, at least. Both as Chat Noir and Adrien. He would be able to track down Kagami. For her part, Ladybug would go grab Alya and Nino.

It made things a hundred times easier when they ended up being together.

"I've not heard _anything_ about an akuma yet," Alya said dubiously as she accepted her Miraculous. Nino was looking frankly startled that they were being tapped again after the fiasco at the end of the previous fight. "Are you sure there wasn't just a false alarm on Twitter or something?"

"We have an inside source," Ladybug said shortly, stepping back to her window. They didn't have any time to waste. Chat Noir had just sent her a quick notification that Queen Bee and Dragoness were ready and were on the lookout for anything strange. As soon as the akuma showed its head, they had to strike. "The Purple Lady was headed to her lair to send out an akuma. We're going to hit before she's ready."

Nino and Alya exchanged a look, then transformed and followed Ladybug out the window. She kept low to the rooftops and out of sight, checking her yo-yo for any notifications. Within a minute, one popped up.

_Akuma at the Arc de Triomphe. Purple Lady spotted._

"To the Arc," Ladybug ordered, changing her direction at once. "You two will be on the akuma."

She didn't miss the _'as always'_ that Rena Rouge muttered, but she decided to ignore it. Now was _not_ the time to get into another argument with them.

...but they also weren't getting their Miraculous back after this battle was over. If the superheroes were needed again for whatever reason and they needed more than just Ladybug and Chat Noir, there were three other options to go to first. Rena Rouge was turning into too much of a wild card and Carapace would always follow her lead. It stunk- after all, Nino and Alya were good friends- but Lila had their ears, it seemed, and that made them liabilities.

People taking the initiative was good, generally. But the superheroes had to act as a team, and Ladybug and Chat Noir were _meant_ to be the undisputed leaders in these battles.

Then the Arc appeared up ahead, and there was no more time to mull over their misbehaving superheroes. Ladybug had one second, two, _three_ to take in the scene below- the rampaging akuma that looked like a knock-off Bubbler in the street, the Purple Lady on top of the Arc, the three other members of their team coming in from the other direction-

And then Ladybug plunged into battle.

* * *

The Purple Lady was at the top of her game. Within a couple minutes, it was obvious that Dragoness and Chat Noir would have to be the ones facing off against her, with Queen Bee back on the akuma and both her and Ladybug on standby, ready to abandon the akuma and join the other two with the Purple Lady.

He had briefed Dragoness and Queen Bee on the way over. The akuma was a secondary concern; once the Purple Lady fell, the akuma would be lost and easy to take down. If Carapace and Rena Rouge could at least keep the akuma from interfering with their fight, they would be good. Ladybug and Queen Bee would not get _too_ tangled up in the akuma battle, so they could jump over to help Chat Noir and Dragoness. Once Paon showed up- and _yes_, he told them about her- then Dragoness could retreat and, once they had the situation under control, go try her hand at battling the akuma.

Chat Noir couldn't help the way his lips quirked up at the memory of when he had told Dragoness that. She had groaned loudly- one on one combat was more her thing, and sword-on-sword instead of whatever... well, whatever akuma attacks were- but agreed. After all, the others would be rejoining the akuma battle shortly enough and getting it wrapped up quickly.

Hopefully.

Fighting the Purple Lady was a whole lot of trading off, darting in at her from opposite sides to keep her guessing. Chat Noir had to keep all of his focus on her, his feet moving fast as he and Dragoness parried blow after blow. The Purple Lady was getting frustrated, it was obvious. She had tried firing off a couple spells as he and Dragoness approached that Chat Noir had just barely managed to block, and she was clearly itching to try more.

But she couldn't. Not with both of her hands and all of her brainpower occupied by her fight with Chat Noir and Dragoness.

His mom had to be moving into position now, Chat Noir knew. The news about the akuma was out now, and their dots would have stopped moving across the city on her communicator. She had to be careful not to get spotted- after all, the public still thought that the Peacock Miraculous was on Hawkmoth's side, and if the Purple Lady caught any sign of her then their element of surprise would be lost- and had to find the perfect spot to hide until she spotted her opening.

They just had to hold the fight until then.

Sword clashed against baton, then against sword. Yells from the akuma fight echoed across the square. Chat Noir let Dragoness take the lead, since he had to keep track of- well, _everything_.

How Ladybug did this during their other akuma battles- keeping track of everything enough to figure out how to proceed while still fighting- was beyond him. If Dragoness weren't such a strong fighter, he would have to commit all of his energy and attention to the battle and he wouldn't _ever_ get to glance around to see what else was going on. As it was, most of his attention had to stay on the Purple Lady so that she wouldn't catch him by surprise.

Fencing bouts had_ never_ been this difficult. His breath was coming heavy, his heart racing. There was absolutely no time for reactions as he countered every strike that the Purple Lady made. He could only breathe when she switched the bulk of her attention back to Dragoness, and even then it was just a short break before he had to be fully in again so that his teammate could catch a breath of her own.

Three minutes later, his baton buzzed. Chat Noir nearly missed it- he had been about to pick up the fight from Dragoness- but when he realized what it meant, he managed a competitive smile.

Paon was in position. Another buzz- a double one- would go off when she was coming up. Down on the street, Ladybug yelled something to her teammates before swinging into her own position, enough behind the Purple Lady that she wouldn't be noticed. Her yo-yo dangled just from her fingertips, ready to strike. Chat Noir chanced a proper glance in her direction and Ladybug gave him one of her determined little nods, focused and ready to work.

That expression on her face was actually pretty adorable, especially paired with the tiger ears and whisker stripes that she had adorned at some point during the fight, but Chat Noir didn't exactly have the time to appreciate that before the Purple Lady's attention was back on him. He parried and went for a blow, forcing the Purple Lady back half a pace. She recovered quickly, going for a heavy blow in his direction that he dodged. Their weapons crossed again in a quick one-two-three-_four_.

_Bzzz. Bzzz._

Two buzzes. Paon was moving up. Chat Noir forced himself to split his attention, waiting for _exactly _the right moment to move back. A flash of blue in the corner of Chat Noir's eye caught his attention and he grinned, gesturing to Dragoness to flip back and bouncing back several paces himself to get out of the Purple Lady's reach. She stepped forward, as if to follow him, when she noticed Paon, now fully on the Arc and straightened to her full, commanding height.

The Purple Lady froze, eyes wide and disbelieving. Chat Noir nodded to Ladybug, but his partner was already in motion, her yo-yo lashing out and wrapping around the Purple Lady, pinning her arms to her sides. The Purple Lady _shrieked_ as she realized that she had been caught_, _thrashing to try to get free, but Paon and Chat Noir didn't give her a chance. In unison, the mother-son duo struck, knocking the Purple Lady to the ground and sending her sword clattering to the side. Without any hesitation, Chat Noir reached over and grabbed her Miraculous. The transformation released in a second, an exhausted Nooroo coming free and bowing to the pair of them before returning to his Miraculous, leaving Nathalie furiously struggling on the rooftop.

He barely recognized her. The muted warmth in her eyes was gone, replaced by an icy coldness. Or, rather, an icy _fury_.

"Queen Bee!" Ladybug called, her voice carrying easily above the sounds of the still-raging akuma battle. Glancing over, Chat Noir saw that Dragoness had already joined the battle on the ground. "We need your Sting!"

Queen Bee appeared in a blur of yellow, dashing towards them. She pulled out her trompo, activating it in a flash before stabbing Nathalie's side. She seized up in a heartbeat, and Ladybug took the opportunity to recall her yo-yo, drop off of the roof, and dash over to the police barricade that was starting to form around the outside of the area. She was back thirty seconds later with two pairs of handcuffs. One pair got snapped around Nathalie's wrists, and the other was hung from Ladybug's waist, ready for when Mr. Agreste appeared.

And just like that, it was over.

Chat Noir swallowed hard, the adrenaline surging through him congealing in a lump in his throat. That made it more real. His father would be going to jail tonight and likely would not be coming out for a long, long time. Even if he had gotten used to the idea- he had certainly had a decent amount of time for it to sink in, and recent days aside, his father hadn't acted very _fatherly_ for a very, very long time- seeing his father behind bars still wasn't something he felt particularly prepared for.

He didn't know if it was really something _anyone_ could have felt prepared for.

"I'll sit with her," Paon promised, settling next to Nathalie. "Right now, I think there's an akuma still for you guys."

Chat Noir nodded, following Ladybug down to the ground. Carapace and Rena Rouge looked frankly baffled when they appeared, glancing up to where the Purple Lady had been, but they didn't question it, particularly when Ladybug's yo-yo snagged the final akuma and sent them flying straight into a lamppost.

With its power leaching fast, the akuma wasn't hard to defeat. Ladybug cast one final Miraculous Cure, the magical ladybugs sparkling just a bit brighter than normal as they put everything back to normal.

Or maybe that was just his imagination.

"It's over," Ladybug sighed, her entire body relaxing as the last of her Cure faded away. "It's really, actually over. That's just..."

"We still have to give a police report and get the Miraculous back," Chat Noir reminded her, wrapping an arm around Ladybug's waist to keep her upright. He paused when beeping reached his ears. "...okay, how many people used their powers? Queen Bee, obviously, but...?"

"Both Carapace and I did, because all of a sudden there were only _two_ of us fighting the akuma," Rena Rouge piped up, appearing at his side with one hand on her hip and an irritated look on her face. "Well, three at first, but Queenie didn't exactly have her head in the game."

Chat Noir picked up the irritation in Ladybug's expression and hurried to answer before she could. "That was because she had been told to keep an eye out for a signal to come help us with the Purple Lady. She was just _following instructions_-" he couldn't resist the small dig, he really couldn't- "and it all turned out fine in the end, didn't it? The akuma was defeated, the Purple Lady has been contained and had her Miraculous taken away, and Hawkmoth will be coming to turn himself in soon."

The speed with which Rena and Carapace's expressions changed from annoyed to startled and shocked was almost comical.

"But if you've used your powers, you'll be detransforming soon," Ladybug chimed in. "So if we could head over to that alley over there-"

Rena Rouge nodded at once, snagging Carapace's wrist and practically dragging him off in the direction that Ladybug had indicated. Chat Noir couldn't help but frown in confusion- wouldn't they want to be present when they turned the former Purple Lady over to the police?- before he realized what must be happening. Rena Rouge was Alya, who was the moderator of the Ladyblog. She had just been told that the Purple Lady and Hawkmoth were de-masked and were going to be turned into the police. Of _course_ she wanted to be detransformed and streaming the whole thing live.

"I can stick around," Queen Bee spoke up. "I have snacks for Pollen with me, in case the Sting wears off. Or if we have to stick around after the Purple Lady and Hawkmoth get turned over to the police. And it's not as though everyone doesn't already know who I am."

Chat Noir grinned. "Good. And Dragoness?"

Dragoness popped open the hilt of her sword to check the time on her communicator. "I have the time to spare, as long as we don't end up in a super-long press conference. And since it's just the once..."

It didn't take Ladybug long to return, tucking the extra Miraculous back in her safe box on her way. It went back into her yo-yo- and the look on Dragoness' face when Ladybug tucked the large box into the small yo-yo was absolutely _hilarious_\- and then the yo-yo clicked shut with finality.

"Time to get Nathalie down!" Ladybug called, already heading for the Arc de Triomphe. "And then Mr. Agreste is going to be here in a couple minutes. He's having his driver bring him over."

Dragoness sucked in a startled breath, and Chat Noir suddenly remembered that while Queen Bee knew everything (or near enough, at least), Dragoness hadn't been told about the identities of the supervillains. Of course it would come as a shock to her. Not as much of a shock as it had been to _him_ when they first found everything out, of course, but still a shock.

Before Ladybug could reach up, Paon appeared at the top of the Arc with the still-frozen Nathalie in her arms. She leapt down easily, landing lightly and straightening before making a beeline for the heroes.

"I can feel her trying to twitch," Paon reported. "I wouldn't be surprised if she needs to be kept sedated until we can undo the effects of the curse on her, just so she doesn't end up injuring herself. She would try to fight too much."

Chat Noir nodded. That was a good thought. There was probably something in the grimoire that would help.

Besides, Master Fu couldn't just quit brewing potions cold turkey, surely. He would miss it too much, after spending almost all of his free time whipping up potion after potion for them.

"And I just sent a text to the police, so they won't _all_ clear away," Ladybug added, giving her yo-yo one final tap before closing it completely for the second time. "Hopefully they'll keep two cars for us."

Chat Noir nodded. If Nathalie hadn't already figured out what had happened, she would work it out soon. And it would _not_ be pretty.

"It looks like most of the police cars are over on that street," Dragoness said, pointing. "And some are starting to clear out. Maybe we should go over there right away, just in case they don't get the text."

Paon headed that way at once, with Chat Noir following right behind her. It took him a minute to realize that Ladybug wasn't following. When he glanced around, he saw her standing next to the Gorilla's car, exchanging a few words with Mr. Agreste before putting him in handcuffs. The two of them headed after the rest of the group, walking quickly to catch up.

Or, well, Ladybug was walking quickly. Since he was so much taller, Mr. Agreste was just able to keep up without hardly trying at all.

That was _actually_ annoying.

"Chat Noir," one of the police officers greeted him, and Chat Noir had to pull his attention away from his father and Ladybug to focus. "Can I ask- was this the Purple Lady?"

"M. Sancoeur was the Purple Lady," Chat Noir confirmed. "She's not in her right mind at the moment- she was using the Peacock Miraculous, which had a curse on it until we recovered the Miraculous and removed the curse. The curse pretty much took away a bit of her humanity every time she transformed into Mayura."

The policeman nodded, looking a bit puzzled. "Okay, uh- we're going to need statements as soon as possible. And Hawkmoth...?"

"Was Gabriel Agreste. Several weeks ago, we confronted him and he gave in, telling us his identity and what was going on. He's been working with us ever since, giving us the Peacock Miraculous once M. Sancoeur took his and surrendering the books and scrolls that he had." Chat Noir took a step back to gesture at the rapidly-approaching Mr. Agreste and Ladybug. "Today, he warned us when Nathalie headed up so that we could strike as soon as the akuma appeared. He agreed when we first confronted him to turn himself in once everything ended."

"Cooperation always is a good thing," the police officer agreed. "That should help him, but of course it depends on the full story. Which- well, I assume that there's more?"

Chat Noir nodded. "There is. We'll come in right away after Ladybug and I recharge."

The officer nodded, opening the car door so that Paon could set Nathalie inside. "Okay. We'll take both of them in. And, uh- was the rest of your team involved in discovering their identities?"

Dragoness shook her head right away. Queen Bee was slower, and Paon looked to Chat Noir for guidance.

"Most of the rest of our team was just involved in the akuma battles," Chat Noir said immediately. "We can fill you in on the roles that everyone played at the station, and you can decide after that if anyone else should come in and testify."

"Very well."

Mr. Agreste arrived then, and a second police officer guided him to a second car. He went in without a fuss, settling in and inclining his head to the superheroes. His gaze turned to Paon, and a small, sad smile played across his lips before he nodded to her, too.

Chat Noir didn't look to see if she had returned the gesture.

It didn't take long to get the cars ready to go. Before they did, the first officer returned to Ladybug and Chat Noir.

"Thank you for your service to the city," he told them. "With Hawkmoth and the Purple Lady's reign gone, Paris can resume its normal life again, just in time for Christmas. We'll prepare a statement at once, and perhaps after your visit to the police station for statements you can join the Mayor for an announcement to Paris?"

"That sounds great," Ladybug said, speaking up from Chat Noir's side. Her hand sneaked around his waist, resting reassuringly on his opposite hip. "We can't wait to tell Paris. It has been a _long_ time coming."

* * *

It didn't take long to get the Dragon Miraculous back, thank Kagami, and let her go on her way. Paon kept her Miraculous- they knew where to find her, after all, and she had been a superhero all on her own before they even reached the scene- and she went back to the hotel while Ladybug and Chat Noir headed for the police station. They stopped and recharged on the way, and Marinette made sure to check that Adrien was holding up okay. Giving statements would be hard on him, after all, having to relive the discovery and learning about Mrs. Agreste's condition.

Thankfully, he was holding up all right. Having his mom recovered and previously out with them no doubt helped.

Giving statements wasn't that bad. She and Chat Noir had to give them separately, of course, so that they wouldn't influence each other's statements, but it wasn't hard to remember everything once she made sure to take her time. The police recorded everything, taking notes as well as taking video of her statement. They had a few questions to clarify certain points, then they were free to go. The police wanted Chloe and Mrs. Agreste to come in as well, along with Jade Turtle, but those could wait until after the holidays. Ladybug had to show the police the Butterfly Miraculous, too, but they didn't even try to request that she leave it with them.

And then it was time for the big announcement. They did tell the eager reporters who Hawkmoth and the Purple Lady had been- there would be no point in _not_ saying that, because the Ladyblog already had video of Nathalie and Mr. Agreste being put in the police cars by the superheroes- and make sure that they added in the fact that Nathalie had started helping Hawkmoth all on her own but had been cursed into her current condition and that Mr. Agreste had switched sides as much as he could towards the end. No one else had willingly worked with them, including the rest of the household staff and Mr. Agreste's son. Mrs. Agreste had been cursed into a coma after using the Peacock to do good, and she had been woken up recently.

There had been a lot of questions, of course, and a lot of gasping at the reveal of who Hawkmoth had been. But eventually the reporters settled down, after being reminded by both the superheroes and the mayor that the investigation was technically still ongoing and therefore they could only say so much.

"We want to thank Paris for cooperating during akuma attacks," Ladybug finished, beaming out at the crowds. "And for being patient with us as we worked to defeat Hawkmoth and the Purple Lady and then prepare for the final confrontation. We're very, very pleased that everything got wrapped up before Christmas."

"It's our present to you," Chat Noir agreed, ducking his head in so that he could speak into her microphone as well. "We'll be going into the new year supervillain-free. Happy holidays, Paris!"

* * *

_a/n: FINALLY_

_There's two more chapters left, just to wrap things up and have a bit of their return to normal life (and, of course, Lila's downfall, because how can I deny y'all of that? But next up: Christmas and some Adrinette cuteness!_


	25. Normal Again

"Oh, look at that stall!"

Adrien followed Marinette's gaze to a heavily decorated stall a little further down the road. It was practically stuffed to bursting with Ladybug and Chat Noir merchandise, and a large banner hung above it thanking the superheroes for defeating the supervillain for good. There was a bit that hung down so that people could sign it and leave messages for the superheroes, and it was _really_ full.

"That's amazing," Adrien commented, leading the way over as best he could, weaving through the crowds. He wanted to read some of the messages. "Do you think that's all from today? Or yesterday and today?"

Marinette pointed at something behind the sign- more paper, . "The paper goes up and over the board and then hangs behind. I bet they move it every so often so that there's more space for people to write on."

"Oh, that's smart."

They didn't linger long by the paper, skimming over a couple comments before deciding to retreat for the time being. There was a poster by the paper that said that the paper would be hung in City Hall for the superheroes to see once the holiday market was over, and a few too many people were glancing over at Adrien for him to be entirely comfortable. Marinette bought two pairs of cat ear headbands before they left the booth, though, and immediately plopped one pair on Adrien's head and the other on her own. She grinned at the expression on his face.

"Those ears look like they belong there!"

"Ha-ha," Adrien drawled, though he couldn't entirely hide the amusement in his voice. "Very funny. So, superhero merchandise aside, what did you want to buy here? Or are we just wandering and seeing if there's anything that catches our eyes?"

Marinette grinned. "The latter. It's fun. And there's cocoa stalls, too, and they make the _best_ hot chocolate."

Adrien smiled as he followed his girlfriend through the crowds. He was really, _really_ glad that Paris' businesses had decided to go ahead with the holiday market last-minute, pulling together their stalls and getting everything set up within 24 hours of the Purple Lady's defeat. The holiday market had officially opened at noon the previous day, and had been bustling ever since. Adrien had been ecstatic at the news, and he and Marinette had almost immediately made plans to go.

At least the sheer number of people at the market meant that it was harder for reporters to find and pester Adrien. Several had approached him already in the short period since his father's arrest when he was out and about, wanting to get his reaction about his father's arrest and his mother's return. He hadn't given them much anything to work with, simply stating that he was glad that his father chose to do the right thing and turn himself in and that he was of course ecstatic about his mom's recovery and Paris' return to peace. He had added to one of the friendlier faces that his father had known that he would go to jail after the next akuma battle but he hadn't tried to push it off, so that Paris would be able to have their holiday fun.

He didn't want people to think that he was trying to excuse his father's behavior with the few redeeming things that he had managed to do (and those things were only done once Mr. Agreste was pretty much pushed into a corner, so how much they _counted_ Adrien wasn't really sure), but he didn't want to come off as the heartbroken, betrayed son, either, not when he knew that that was what they were trying to get him to be, and he wasn't sure what else to say.

But here, people were too busy to really notice him much- well, aside from when he was hanging around the Superhero Thank-You Notes- as they bustled along. Besides, with the scarf wrapped around his neck and the hat over his hair (and the cat ears over the hat), Adrien blended in with the crowd.

"I kept getting texts from people talking about how excited they were about Christmas events getting put back on," Marinette said as they headed for a stall full of glittering scarves. One hand was twined together with Adrien's, and her phone was in her other hand as she scrolled through a few messages. "It was too late for some events, of course, but I think only a couple vendors ended up not being able to do the market. Everyone already had had merchandise and workers lined up."

Adrien frowned. "I don't think I got any texts like that." His phone had been pretty silent, actually. That wasn't a _huge_ surprise, though. People probably didn't know what to say to him about his father's arrest. He certainly wouldn't know what to say if he were in their shoes.

Marinette squeezed his hand. "I think they're just trying to be thoughtful about your feelings by not being super-excited about stuff that happened because of Hawkmoth and the Purple Lady being arrested. And by _people_ I mostly meant the other girls. Mylène and Rose love hitting up all the holiday stuff, so they were crushed when things were canceled."

"_I_ was crushed. I wanted to come here with you and get to experience the holiday market. Father didn't allow it last year." They finally got close enough to the scarf stall to slip inside and start browsing. "And I can see why. The crowds are _insane_."

Marinette's giggles were adorable. "I know! But it's still fun. And with this many people, some of the wind from off the river gets blocked. If there weren't many people, everyone would be freezing."

"And the people selling chunky scarves and hats would be doing roaring business," Adrien added, gesturing towards a stall across the way. "...not that they aren't already."

In the scarves stall, Adrien found a gorgeous blue and green scarf for his mom, with silver streaking through in several spots. He purchased it with a grin before realizing that, if he was going to give the gifts that he picked out to his mom, he would have to explain how he knew about her being the Peacock. Preferably _before_ she opened the gifts.

...at least Master Fu had mentioned that it would be okay to tell her, now that the final battle was over. Since Paon was keeping her Miraculous as a permanent superhero, it would be easier on the kwamis if they just told her that they were Ladybug and Chat Noir.

Adrien could only hope that he and Marinette would have an opportunity to tell his mom in secret before they opened their presents tomorrow.

There was a stall with little jeweled boxes, then several with shirts and purses. There were stalls and stalls of ornaments, some elegant, some tacky, some pretty but not nearly as delicate as the glass ornaments that Adrien had gotten for his parents. They didn't buy much, instead preferring to pick through and window-shop instead. There were a few things that were kind of interesting, but Adrien had already finished his shopping and he _really_ didn't want to buy more and end up forgetting about it before next year's Christmas.

"What I do is think about what I want to get for people next year, then make note of it and hope that the stalls still have similar stuff," Marinette told Adrien as they waited in line to get hot chocolate. "Unless it's something _really_ unusual or one-of-a-kind. Then I'll buy it and just set it aside. But this year, I did all of my shopping already because I thought there might not _be_ a market."

Adrien couldn't resist grinning. "You mean you went to the fabric store? Or did you go other places, too?"

"I went other places too!"

"But the fabric store was your favorite, right?"

Marinette's indistinguishable grumble made Adrien snicker.

They had gotten their cocoa and were headed for a stall with more superhero merchandise when Adrien spotted Ivan and Mylène headed towards them. They looked really cheerful, and their faces lit up when they saw Adrien and Marinette.

"We weren't expecting to see you out and about!" Mylène exclaimed, heading right towards them. "Are you enjoying the market? There's fire jugglers over on the other side!"

"I didn't want to miss it," Adrien said at once, choosing to ignore the obvious implication- that his classmates didn't think that he would be out acting like everything was normal so soon after his father was arrested. "Marinette was telling me about it and it sounded like fun."

"It's a tradition to go in my family," Ivan said, gesturing behind him. Adrien looked, and spotted someone who looked very likely to be Ivan's father, another boy who looked like he could easily be Ivan's brother, and a lady with them who Adrien was _assuming_ was his mother. "Every year, at least for half an hour. One year, my brother had a broken leg from falling on ice the day before and we still came."

"They were planning on coming over here anyway even if the market wasn't happening and just walking around," Mylène told them. "I heard that there were a couple vendors who were going to set up anyway, so they could have just browsed those- what? Three or so stalls?"

Ivan just shrugged sheepishly.

"Well, we don't want to keep you two," Mylène told them. "Have a nice time! There's a stall back that way with really good soup in bread bowls, and another with some wintery pastries- though I suppose you get plenty of those already?"

Marinette giggled. "Just a few!"

"And then there's the fire jugglers, and- well, there aren't any snow and ice sculptures this year, because they weren't sure if it would be happening in the first place and those take so long to do," Mylène added. "So that's a little disappointing, but at least there's a market at all. We were worried that only a few vendors would be able to pull off a stall on short notice, so this is _amazing_\- oh, Ivan, your mom is waving to us, we'd better go. Merry Christmas!"

"Merry Christmas!" Adrien and Marinette chorused as Mylène and Ivan headed off. They vanished into the crowd quickly enough, weaving between families as they caught up to Ivan's family. The two of them watched them go, then turned back to the superhero stall that they had spotted before.

It had merchandise for Ladybug and Chat Noir, of course, and then some for Queen Bee, Rena Rouge, and Carapace. There were even a few pieces for Dragoness, though (unsurprisingly, since she had just appeared to the public two days prior) there was nothing for Paon except for a few generally peacock-themed things that the shops had presumably bought last-minute.

Adrien didn't miss Marinette's irritated glance towards the Rena and Carapace corner. She had told him about their continued attitude before the previous fight, the second-guessing her and exasperated glances. Part of it was definitely because of the earlier rebuke and part was because Lila had their ear, but Ladybug telling them to leave it alone should have been enough for them to at _least_ not express their complaints where Ladybug could hear them.

And then there had been the matter of their attitude after their final fight which, well, hadn't exactly been any motivation for him and Ladybug to trust them again.

"I wonder if it's going to come out to all of Paris that my mom is the _current_ Paon," Adrien murmured in Marinette's ear. "I can understand the police knowing, because they know how to deal with sensitive information and we didn't want the police thinking that she needs to be investigated too, but if everyone knows, she could be a target for people who want the powers."

"We can talk to the police after the holidays," Marinette assured him. "As Ladybug and Chat Noir, that is. And since your father pleaded guilty already, the jury might not need to know _who_ was behind the current Peacock."

Adrien nodded. That was a good point. His father had clearly decided to continue being cooperative, pleading guilty as soon as the charges had been formally submitted against him. A judge still had to decide on his punishment, of course, but it was easier without him fighting the charges.

They left the stall with a pair of Ladybug gloves for Adrien and Chat Noir gloves for Marinette, their fingers still twined together as they walked. Adrien led the way to another drinks stall- this time it was spiced apple cider- and then they headed over to watch the fire dancers for a bit. It looked _really_ cool, though Adrien suspected that in the evening, once it started to get dark, the twirling fire might look even _cooler_.

"Ooh, I can feel the heat from here," Marinette said cheerfully once they had worked their way towards the front of the crowd. "It's nice. And- _wow_, I keep worrying that they're going to hit each other with their sticks when they do that!"

Adrien laughed. "I bet they practice with non-flaming sticks first, until they aren't making any mistakes anymore. And I'd bet that they _still_ had a very well-stocked first aid kit in their van."

"Just like Papa. Accidents in the kitchen aren't common, but he still keeps a really big first aid kit in the kitchen in case of burns or cuts or- well, those are the most common, but there's a lot of machinery in the kitchen, so practically anything is possible, especially if people are rushing." Marinette cuddled into his side, and Adrien grinned as he pulled her close, pressing a kiss to the top of her heads. As far as (actual, real) first dates went, this was up there. "D'you want to split a soup bowl after this? I know our parents were expecting us home for lunch, but I've had those before and they're _really_ good."

Adrien _would_ have teased her about being a hungry bug, but his stomach was growling, too, and he really wanted to try the stew. "That sounds like a plan!"

They watched a couple more dances before working their way back out of the crowd of onlookers. They were almost to the stall when they ran into another pair of familiar faces- Kagami and her mom, carefully picking their way through the least dense parts of the crowd. Kagami paused when she saw him, a vaguely guilty look flashing across her face. It took Adrien a moment to realize _why_, but then it hit him.

She had been part of the final battle, where his father ended up arrested _right_ before the holidays. There was probably a feeling there that the superheroes were why Adrien didn't have his father for Christmas, which was absolutely ridiculous. Only Mr. Agreste was responsible for what happened. The superheroes just made him face his mistakes. Besides, with the supervillains in jail and the danger passed, Adrien could spend time with his mom without being concerned about other people finding out and accidentally endangering her. Considering that she was the parent who _actually_ enjoyed spending time with him, well, this was definitely an improvement.

"Hi Kagami," Marinette said politely, though her grip on Adrien's hand tightened. He glanced to the side and saw that she looked a little stiff. After a second, he remembered that _oh, right, Kagami had liked him, too, _and he had maybe sort of possibly accidentally implied during their one and only (failed) date that he was hung up on some other girl but would consider Kagami first if he ever properly moved on… and now Marinette was his girlfriend. _Whoops_.

Awkward.

"Hi Adrien, Marinette," Kagami returned. "Mom, I think I've told you about these two before? Or at least about Marinette, you've met Adrien before."

Madam Tsurugi nodded and held out her hand for them to shake. "Correct. Hello, Adrien and Marinette. Adrien, I was sorry to hear about your father and Nathalie."

"I'm glad that Paris has been freed from the clutches of supervillains," Adrien said politely, shaking her hand before stepping back. At least she hadn't tried to claim that she was surprised to hear the news, considering that she had known for longer than anyone else in Paris. "And I'm glad to have my mom back. I'll be celebrating the holidays with her and Marinette's family."

Madam Tsurugi smiled. "Yes, I heard that Emilie is awa- ah, has been found. That's fantastic news. I'll have to catch up with her sometime."

Adrien tried not to wince at that. His mom had _not_ been happy to find out that Madam Tsurugi hadn't told authorities about Mr. Agreste being the most likely Hawkmoth, and she probably still was less than pleased. She recognized that there had been some blackmail set up pretty quickly- well, when the superheroes had mentioned the whole contracts thing to her, at least- but the fact of the matter remained that as a former superhero, Madam Tsurugi should have ignored that and done the right thing anyway.

_Family honor_, Mrs. Agreste had told Ladybug and Chat Noir rather tartly, didn't mean _family reputation_. It meant always doing the right thing, even if it left the reputation in tatters. Maybe not everyone would agree, but she had always seen honor as more of an internal thing rather than something that others thought.

"That's great news," Kagami agreed. "A positive among the negatives. Well, we won't keep you, then. I'm sure that you want to finish your shopping here and then go see her again."

"Of course," Adrien agreed, figuring that both Kagami and Marinette would probably rather not deal with the awkwardness at the moment. "Have a good holidays, you two."

"Thank you, and you as well."

The Tsurugis headed on their way, and Adrien and Marinette got in line for the bread bowls. It took a little back-and-forth debate to decide on what _kind_ of stew to get, and then they ordered and were on their way with their prize.

Marinette was right: it was very, _very_ good. It was also pretty filling, which told Adrien that it was _definitely_ a good thing that they had decided to go to the market in the morning instead of the afternoon, like they had initially planned. If they had done that, they would have been too full to be able to enjoy their holiday dinner.

"This is so filling that I'm _still_ going to not be hungry by the time we get around to dinner," Marinette grumbled when Adrien said as much. "The bowls are so big, it's ridiculous. And that was _with_ us splitting one."

"Well, it's part of the holidays to be stuffed all the time, isn't it?" Adrien asked with a grin as he deposited their used napkins in a nearby wastebasket. "We're just getting an early start."

"Oh, gosh, at this rate I won't last the season," Marinette groaned, but she was grinning. "Just let me die now."

Adrien laughed. "So dramatic, my Lady. Now let's go home."

* * *

Back at the Dupain-Cheng household, the adults were busy with meal prep for the big Christmas dinner. Mr. Dupain and Mrs. Cheng were doing the bulk of the work, but much to Adrien's surprise, his mom was helping, too.

"Don't look so surprised," Mrs. Agreste said with a laugh when she spotted him staring. "I know how to cook! I was never _great_ at it and then we got a chef at home so I didn't get much practice, but I can chop some stuff, and measure, and, uh…"

"She made the cranberry sauce," Mr. Dupain told them, grinning widely. "And learned pretty quickly that aprons are a good thing to wear in the kitchen."

"It _spat_ at me!"

Everyone laughed.

"Marinette let us know that you two ate lunch at the market," Mrs. Cheng told them as they hung up their coats. "Let us know if you want anything else, but we haven't made anything for lunch. We've been a little busy with dinner."

Adrien glanced over at the kitchen as he shed his shoes. Cutting boards and bowls and platters covered pretty much every surface. "Is there anything I can do to help?"

Mrs. Cheng beamed at him as she measured out spices to go over the sliced potatoes in front of her. "No, I think there are _quite_ enough chefs in this kitchen at the moment. You can sit down and relax and tell us about the fair. I've not been able to go for a couple years, so I always love to hear what they're doing."

"Well, there were fire dancers," Adrien said as he settled down on the couch next to Marinette. She had already gotten wrapped up and cozy in a blanket on the couch, and she held out one side so that he could slide in next to her. "It was so cool! And some of them were jugglers, too, and watching the pins flying through the air was just- _wow_. They must practice a _ton_ to be able to do that. I would be worried about my fingers getting cold and then messing up and getting burnt."

"I think they switch out so that they can warm up in the company van," Mr. Dupain told him. "Or maybe they're just resting and taking a break. It _is_ pretty warm around the dancers, if I'm remembering correctly. I'm sure it's even hotter when they're in the thick of it."

"They can't wear thick coats, though," Mrs. Cheng pointed out. "So if a wind kicks up, they aren't _nearly_ as protected as everyone else."

"Ooh, that's true. Okay, so other than the fire dancers-"

Adrien relaxed into the couch as he continued telling their parents about the market. After a few minutes, he noticed that Marinette wasn't contributing much and her gentle lean against his shoulder had gotten steadily heavier. He glanced over and sure enough, she was fast asleep against him.

(She was _actually_ adorable.)

"I was wondering when you were going to notice that she was out," Mrs. Cheng said with a quiet laugh. "Let's let her sleep. She was up early this morning to get ready for your date and she's been so stressed lately, she needs the extra sleep. I want her to go into the new year and the next semester all refreshed instead of rushed and strung out."

Adrien nodded in agreement, making sure that he didn't jostle Marinette as he did. No matter what, Marinette was going to be more relaxed now, but her parents had no reason to know that. With Hawkmoth and the Purple Lady defeated and his mom awakened and safe, Marinette had a _lot_ taken off of her plate from the superhero side. Add in the fact that the end of the semester brought with it the end of a couple of Marinette's other responsibilities- the party-planning and the push of exams, largely, plus the fact that Marinette had finished her Christmas presents now _just_ in time- and Marinette was going to just have normal responsibilities waiting for her.

Well, they still had to deal with the curses on his father and Nathalie. There was also the matter of Lila and her lies, but they had a plan in place for dealing with _her_, so they just had to wait for that to happen and then _that_ annoyance would be out of the way. Then Marinette could just enjoy her school day like any other student.

….well, she _would_ still have her class representative duties, but as her boyfriend, Adrien was more than willing to step in and help her with whatever she had to get done when Alya left any slack. And she obviously would have commissions, too, but the _point_ was that Marinette would get to pick and choose her extra responsibilities now instead of just having things _thrust_ on her.

His mom was frowning. "Oh, no! Did I add to her stress by asking if she could come over and let me get to know her before the end of the semester? I mean, I knew she and Adrien had exams and a project to finish, but I didn't think that there was much more…"

"We got to work on our project while we were over visiting," Adrien assured her. "And we took a much-needed break for dinner when we could socialize. It was just that there was a lot, with exams and projects and planning the class party as class president when her vice-president had kind of flaked out on her _and_ working on Christmas presents and-" Adrien caught himself before he could add anything about their superhero duties. After all, they hadn't told his mom yet, and while Master Fu had given them the go-ahead to tell the Dupain-Chengs, too, an offhand comment was _not _how they were planning to break the news.

(Telling Marinette's parents could wait until _after_ the holidays. They hoped that the reveal would go smoothly, of course, but they didn't want to risk ruining the holidays in case it didn't. Marinette's parents were pretty cool- scratch that, _really_ cool- but there were limits to _any_ parents' tolerance. And knowing that their daughter had been in danger so often…

At least the fight was over now. All of the Miraculous were accounted for, and they had a team that they could call up if needed. Master Fu could have them to come in and train for any other potential threats when they had time and energy for it. They were safe now.)

"There was some babysitting, too," Mrs. Cheng chimed in. "We didn't know how swamped Marinette was, so we didn't push back on that for her. We might have Marinette _not_ babysit for a while until we can tell that she's not overwhelmed again." She smiled at Adrien. "I'm sure that you two will appreciate a bit of extra free time so that you can actually go out and enjoy your dates."

Adrien grinned. He hadn't thought about that much, since their _actual_ relationship was so new and the whole _having actual free time_ was pretty new, too, but actually being able to have enough time to go on regular dates when they also had school to go to, instead of having to wait for school holidays? _Yes, please_. "Yeah, that will be really nice."

The conversation wandered off from there, Marinette's parents talking to his mom about what had been going on in Paris other than the akumas and some discussion about what the holidays meant for the bakery. Adrien sat back, settling Marinette more comfortably against his side and smiling as she shifted, snuggling closer into his side.

Never mind the fancy balls and stuffy parties that his parents had always dragged him to for Christmas when he was younger, this was _much_ better.

As one hour ticked past, then two, their parents kept chatting, moving on from food prep to clean-up. Adrien was starting to get a _little_ worried about getting an opportunity to tell his mom about them being Ladybug and Chat Noir. While it was great that Marinette's family spent so much time together, Adrien didn't want to try to wedge in the reveal while Marinette's parents had just ducked out of the room for a minute. His mom would need longer than that to recover from the surprise.

Fortunately, a baker could never _fully_ take the day off. Mr. Dupain and Mrs. Cheng made their apologies for having to duck out once the last of the dishes were clean, but the bakery carried a number of products that had to be made (or worked on, at least) over the course of several days and they didn't want to return from the holidays with a less-than-complete inventory. It wouldn't take _long_, they promised, but it had to be done.

Which left Mrs. Agreste with Adrien and the still-sleeping Marinette.

"I think that I'll not be restarting the Agreste holiday ball in the future," Mrs. Agreste said as she sat down on the other couch opposite Adrien and Marinette, smiling at the cute picture they made. "This is _so_ much more fun and way less stress."

Adrien grinned. "Oh, thank _god_."

"You never _did_ like those gatherings, did you?" Mrs. Agreste asked with a laugh. "I always figured that it had something to do with all of the ladies pinching your cheeks when you were younger. And the suits! You hated those. Even though you doesn't seem to have any trouble with them now- I saw the _Gabriel_ runway you did with the feather hat."

"That was Marinette's," Adrien said fondly, glancing down at his sleeping girlfriend. She was just starting to stir, actually, her nose twitching adorably as she shifted. "She switched out the feathers for replicas so that I wouldn't sneeze the entire way down the runway. And the runway didn't last that long, I got to change back to comfortable clothes right after." He winced as memory of that day fully hit him and he remembered exactly what had happened. "Well, okay, the runway itself wasn't that long. It just got lengthened because Style Queen decided to interrupt."

Mrs. Agreste's cheerful mood dropped almost immediately. "I hadn't seen footage of that one yet. Who…?"

"Chloe's mom was upset with Father about the seat that she got," Adrien told her, figuring that this was about as good of a lead-in as they were going to get. "And so she was akumatized, and she turned things into gold with a blast. I'm sorry I froze up and didn't dodge," he added to Marinette, who was blinking blearily at his side. "I know fights were always harder when you were left on your own."

He could see the indignant expression on his mom's face shift into something puzzled, then focused as she zeroed in on his words.

Marinette had clearly caught on to what he was doing right away, despite having just been asleep. "You were surprised, it wasn't your fault. At least Plagg didn't get hit with you and he could come and help."

Adrien's gaze flickered back to his mom. She looked disbelieving, but he could see her eyes on Marinette as she mouthed "_Ladybug"_ to herself.

"Yeah, I was helpful and I didn't destroy_ that_ much!" Plagg piped up, sticking his head out of Adrien's sweater. "I mean, a couple buildings crumbled, sure, and some bridges- but it was pretty contained!"

"Oh, my _god_," Mrs. Agreste breathed, her eyes huge. Behind her, Duusu giggled. "Okay, I thought that I _had_ to be misinterpreting things, but _wow._ Chat Noir. And Ladybug. I didn't- I didn't expect-"

Adrien managed a grin. "Yeah, I know the feeling. I wasn't expecting to find out that Father and Nathalie were the city's supervillains."

She groaned. "Oh _god._ I can't- wow. You were fighting your father! And to not let that on when you found out- I might be an actress, but I wouldn't have been able to pull that off. And just finding that out- do you know any kwami therapists? I feel like you might need therapy after finding out- it was in the middle of a battle, right? That wasn't a good way at all. And then not being able to tell anyone…"

"I object to not being counted as someone," Plagg piped up. "Also Fu. Ladybug and Chat Noir had made a beeline to his shop after that battle ended to tell him everything, and once Ladybug left, he did some of the mushy heart-to-heart talking about feelings with Adrien."

"_Still_." Mrs. Agreste looked distressed. "And you found out about _me_ at the same time, and that had to be _another_ shock to the system…"

"It was," Adrien admitted, though he hated bringing the mood down more. Still, his mom was tuned into emotions to _some_ degree with the Peacock, and he didn't want to lie. "I don't know how I managed that first day. Then the second day, back at school-" Adrien paused, turning his gaze to Marinette. "Marinette was there for me, with pastries and homework support and just someone I could _be_ with without expectations. And I know now that _you_ knew about everything, of course, but I didn't pick up on that at all."

Marinette managed a smile as she shifted to sit upright, wrapping one arm around Adrien's waist. "I was freaking out so much on the inside when I got to school because I was so worried that I would give something away, but then _you_ seemed so strung out that I just, like, forgot to worry. Because I was so focused on you instead."

Adrien smiled, resting his cheek against the top of Marinette's head. "You're amazing."

"That's pretty ironic that you two were drawn to each other without ever knowing that you were superhero partners," Mrs. Agreste said, a small smile gracing her face. Then she sobered. "That might have been funny, but when I think of all of the secrets you had to keep, that you couldn't tell anyone or react to because it would be too dangerous if someone caught on…"

"I'm glad it's over," Adrien admitted, letting his eyes drift close and letting himself focus on the moment. He was here with Marinette and his mom, in the Dupain-Cheng living room. Nathalie and his father were in jail, and Paris was safe. He couldn't let himself get bogged down in unpleasant memories. "Living in the same house- if it had gone on much longer, I might have started sleeping somewhere else. If I had known about Father before he gave in, it would have been even worse. At least Nathalie didn't sleep in the house."

"I _did_ wonder about how much you really knew when I saw that you told that reporter that your father knew that he would be arrested with the next akuma attack," Mrs. Agreste commented after a second. Her hand landed on his shoulder, rubbing gently. "And when you didn't seem surprised by his decision to have Christmas with you so early. But that makes a lot of sense. I'm proud of you," she added. "Both of you. Being superheroes at your age, when you have places that you're expected to be, and trying to figure out magic when you should just be figuring out your geography homework…"

Marinette laughed. "We _did_ at least have the kwamis to teach us things, and Master Fu once the kwamis told us about him. It wasn't as though we went into the fights _entirely_ blind."

"I've seen footage of the fights and the fighting- your Miraculous might give you a boost, but you two are a _formidable_ team," Mrs. Agreste told them. "Very attuned to each other, very imaginative, very quick-thinking. Still, when I look at the amount of danger Gabriel put you in- and not just in your superhero form, either! Your school was targeted so heavily! And Chloe told me that you were targeted directly a few times. I can't believe that he thought that that was even in the _realm_ of acceptable. And then for you to find out that you father was behind those attacks!"

"It wasn't as though _all_ of the reveals I did were traumatic," Adrien said quickly before his mom could get too bogged down in the whole Hawkmoth discovery thing and then get too broody over that to be able to enjoy the rest of the day. Even though it would probably be a good idea to talk about his whole reaction more and work through his feelings, it was Christmas and _not_ the right time for it. "When Marinette and I got to reveal our identities to each other- well, I wasn't expecting my gorgeous, fabulous teammate to be my amazing, talented, _also_ gorgeous classmate." He grinned, figuring that they might as well come _completely_ clean to his mom. She would probably enjoy the story, at any rate, and it would be a good change in topic. "And my, uh, fake girlfriend at the time."

Distracted, his mom blinked at them a few times. "…come again?"

Marinette laughed, leaning forward. "Oh, you'll enjoy this. So, several days after we found out about Hawkmoth…"

* * *

Adrien woke up Christmas morning with his nose buried in Marinette's hair and an arm wrapped around her waist. He frowned for a moment, puzzled, then remembered why he was there. _Oh, right_.

He and his mom were staying with the Dupain-Chengs for the holidays, since the mansion was still blocked off until the police (accompanied by the superheroes) could search for any additional evidence. His mom was staying in the guest bedroom and Adrien was meant to be staying on Marinette's lounger.

In all fairness, he had _planned_ on sleeping on the lounger. They both had planned on it, in fact, and on all of the other nights that they had been there, he had slept down there. But he and Marinette had stayed up a little too late talking together while sitting on her bed, and apparently they had accidentally fallen asleep together. _Whoops_.

Hopefully their parents hadn't stuck their heads in to check in on them.

Doing his best not to disturb Marinette, Adrien reached over to snag the closest phone on the blankets, waking it up- it needed to be plugged in, whoops- to check the time. It was pretty late in the morning, which made sense considering that all of them had gone to bed late with the late-night Christmas Eve meal, but it was _definitely_ time to get up. If they stayed in bed much longer, someone would come up to check on them.

If they hadn't already done that, that was.

"Marinette, wake up," Adrien said quietly, pressing a kiss to Marinette's ear. She stirred, but didn't wake up. "Marinette. It's Christmas."

"Mmmhmm."

Adrien smiled as Marinette wriggled and settled down further under her blanket, clearly intent on staying asleep. "Lovebug."

"_Sleeping_."

"It's time to get up." Adrien pushed himself up slightly, and suddenly a delicious scent hit his nose, strong enough that it was _definitely_ coming from the Dupain-Cheng's home kitchen and not form a last-minute order in the bakery. "And it smells like someone made cinnamon rolls for breakfast."

Marinette rolled over, burying her face in her pillows. "Nooooo."

Adrien laughed again, figuring that he would let her be. He had kind of wanted her to be able to wake up next to him since it had been such a nice wake-up for him, but Marinette clearly wanted to stay asleep and he would let her. Adrien made to slip off of the bed, but hadn't gotten far before Marinette's arm reached out and snagged him, tugging lightly.

"You don't want me to wake you up, but you don't want to let me go, either?" Adrien teased, but he slipped back into bed and cuddled up to Marinette's side. "It's one or the other, love."

Marinette wrapped her arm fully around Adrien's waist and pressed her face into his side. "Neither."

"You're oddly responsive for someone who's apparently asleep," Adrien teased, but he wasn't making any move to get away, instead running his fingers through Marinette's wild bedhead. It was _adorable_. "Are you getting up?"

The raspberry that Marinette blew into his stomach was all the answer he needed. He laughed, both tickled and amused. "I don't think that you're still asleep, oddly enough."

"Maybe I just want to relax with you for a couple minutes."

"And the truth comes out." Still, Adrien was weak for the smile that Marinette flashed him and he settled down. "I just don't want our parents to come up and find me in your bed."

"Mmm."

Even with as comfortable as it was, the two of them had to get up eventually. Adrien headed for Marinette's trapdoor to go downstairs and change in the bathroom. He met Mr. Dupain on the stairs to Marinette's room, and he was very, _very_ glad that they had gotten up when they did. Adrien was _not_ interested in having Marinette's very large, very muscley father finding him in bed with his daughter.

"We were wondering if we would see you two soon," Mr. Dupain said with a laugh, turning around and heading back down the stairs. "Is Marinette up?"

"I'm up, papa!"

"Good." Mr. Dupain grinned. "Now get ready and eat breakfast quickly, because I can't wait to open presents and see what I got this year."

* * *

"Oh, this is so pretty!"

Adrien grinned as he watched his mom turn over the peacock ornament in her hands. She looked positively delighted, which Adrien was relieved by. Last-minute, he had gotten worried that maybe she wouldn't appreciate that all of his presents for her were Peacock references, as though _that_ were the only thing that he knew about her, but clearly that wasn't the case.

"It _is_ gorgeous," Mrs. Cheng agreed, leaning forward to see the ornament better. "Is that from the same place where you got those bakery ornaments for us, Marinette?"

Marinette grinned, nodding. "Yeah. I showed Adrien where their store is."

"Betrayed," Mr. Dupain groaned dramatically, pressing his hand to his forehead. "Marinette discovered this shop a couple years ago, but she refuses to tell us where to find it at the market or where their permanent shop is," he added when the two Agrestes looked confused. "And now she turns around and shows her boyfriend where it is! My heart is broken."

"I have places that I'll keep secret from Adrien," Marinette protested, wriggling to settle in more comfortably on the couch next to Adrien. She was adorable and festive in a cat-themed Christmas sweater, and he was doing his best to not just kiss her in front of their parents. "It's just that that shop is so great for ornaments that I'd get for you two, I don't want to give away where I'm going and then have you just find things that you want in there for yourselves. Like, one of the best parts of you opening those presents is the fact that you've never seen them at all before, so it's a complete surprise."

"Oh, I _suppose_."

Mrs. Cheng laughed as she passed out the next round of presents. "You're so dramatic, Tom. You're going to scare away Emilie and Adrien."

Mrs. Agreste giggled. "Believe it or not, I am _very_ used to dramatic people. I don't scare easily."

Adrien smiled as he accepted his next gift from Mrs. Cheng. The tag said that it was from Marinette, and she was wriggling excitedly next to him. The excitement was adorable, and Adrien couldn't resist pressing a quick kiss to her cheek.

At all of his other Christmases, his parents had been interested in his reaction (well, his mom had, at least), but they had never been _wriggly_ in anticipation of his reaction. That was entirely a Marinette thing, and Adrien loved it. He waited for everyone else to get their presents impatiently before tugging open the wrapping paper carefully.

Marinette's eager wriggling increased.

"Someone is impatient," Mr. Dupain observed with a laugh. "Let him breathe, darling."

"I just didn't want to tear the wrapping paper," Adrien said, finally getting the wrapping paper off and setting the box down in his lap. "It's super pretty! And you do such a lovely job of wrapping. You could probably re-use the paper."

"Oh my _god_ Adrien, just open the box already!"

Adrien laughed as he pulled off the box lid. "Such an impatient bug- _oh my god I love it_."

The sweater inside- _how had she even had the time to make it?_\- was a gorgeous shade of dark blue with white snowflakes on it. On the bottom, cats played in the snow. They were adorable, and the fact that it was winter-themed instead of Christmas-themed meant that Adrien could wear it for more of the season. Which he was going to, obviously.

"Nino mentioned that when you two walked past a pet store last year, you were obsessed with the cats in the window," Marinette told him, cuddling into his side. "And, well, I found a _really_ cute pattern that I could modify."

Adrien grinned at that. "Lovely coincidence." He shifted slightly away from Marinette for a moment to pull off his plain sweater and replace it with the new one. "It fits! And it has some room to grow, too."

"Which is good," Mrs. Agreste chimed in. "Quite a few people in our family go through a growth spurt around sixteen, and I'm sure you'll want to be able to keep wearing the sweater for a while."

"Definitely," Adrien agreed, smoothing down the fabric. He grinned at the sight of the cats- so cute!- before wrapping Marinette up in a hug. "Thank you, Marinette."

Marinette grinned against his cheek. "You're welcome."

During the next round, Marinette got Adrien's gift for her and she cooed over the adorable charm bracelet before holding it out for him to hook around her wrist. He did so, unable to resist the urge to blush as their parents looked on, smiles on their faces. Adrien was pretty sure that he heard an _aww_ from his mom.

Oh, _gosh_. They were going to have to deal with this a lot, weren't they? Adrien had already found it weird when his father kept asking after how his relationship was going, but Adrien was willing to bet that their remaining parents would be even more actively interested. Still if it was that or dealing with a parent who just didn't care (at least until he really didn't have a choice), Adrien knew that he could deal with the embarrassment.

"And there's plenty of space for you to add more charms in the future," Mrs. Agreste said, leaning forward to see the bracelet. She ran her fingers over the tiny cat and ladybug charms with a small smile, then the tiny sewing machine. "_Very_ cute."

"Just like Marinette," Adrien said, partly out of reflex and partly because, well, it was true. He grinned at a blushing Marinette as their parents _aww_ed some more. He pulled Marinette close for a quick hug and an even quicker kiss, conscious of their parents in the room but unable to resist. "Merry Christmas."

If this was any indication of what his future was going to be like, Adrien was looking forward to it. Warm and comfortable and loved and valued, and the cat in Adrien _purred_.

Maybe there were some loose ends that still had to be tied up, but for now, this was _purr_fect.

* * *

_a/n: one more chapter to go!_

_As always, reviews make my day! :)_


	26. The Last Loose Ends

_Last chapter!_

* * *

Adrien had to admit that his girlfriend was doing a _great_ job at not giving away her excitement as their class piled onto the bus, a quiet buzz running from person to person as their classmates tried to figure out where the mystery location for their field trip would be. Marinette was patiently listening to Alya's wild and completely inaccurate guesses as they boarded, a neutral look on her face. Adrien was having a hard time containing his (somewhat vindictive, honestly) excitement himself, and had to keep himself out of the conversation for fear of spoiling the surprise.

He could only hope that the drive to the embassy wouldn't take long.

Alya and Nino slid into one seat, with Lila settling on the seat across the aisle from them. Madam Mendeleev settled herself directly behind Lila- Adrien wouldn't be surprised if she was doing so to ensure that Lila wouldn't try to make a break for it- and he and Marinette sat behind Nino and Alya, close enough to pay attention to their conversation and to not look suspiciously disinterested.

And, as a bonus, they would get to see Lila's face when they arrived at the embassy.

"I'm impressed that Madam Mendeleev actually managed to keep this secret," Adrien murmured in Marinette's ear as they got settled. "Like, surely there were parents who wanted to know where we were going. The only reason _our_ parents didn't say anything was because we already knew what was going on."

"Well, people know that she's not going to arrange anything too crazy." Marinette smiled up at him, curling into his side. Her charm bracelet peeked out from under her jacket sleeve, glinting in the winter sunlight. "So that probably helped. And there might have been some parents told, on the condition that they not spoil the surprise."

"Mm, good point." Adrien pressed a kiss to her hair, conscious of Lila scowling as she eyed them from her seat. While she was clearly _trying_ to hide it, Lila was _super_ sour about Adrien being clearly taken now, so she couldn't try to claim that they were close to dating, or dating in secret, or-

Well, he didn't know what else she would try to claim, really, but ever since he and Marinette started dating- or, rather, ever since they first _claimed_ that they were dating- Lila had been eying them with increasingly irritated expressions. Clearly she had had something in mind and their relationship had derailed it. He would have thought that his father being outed as Hawkmoth would have been even more of a deterrent- after all, who wanted to be at all associated with a supervillain, no matter how indirectly?- but it seemed that his fame as a model probably overruled that association.

With the last of the two troisième classes loaded into the bus, the doors closed and the bus started off. Adrien settled down in his seat, content to more or less tune out the rest of the bus in favor of watching Marinette's expressions as she listened to Alya and Nino. She had been doing an admirable job of not being annoyed with the two of them for the attitude that they had given Ladybug in the final battle, he thought, though it probably helped that they hadn't seen Alya and Nino much over the break.

Besides, Lila was a _much _more deserving target. Even disregarding everything that she had pulled during the school year, they _still_ hadn't been able to go for the rest of the winter break without hearing about her and her latest lies.

After Christmas had fully passed and a large part of the dust had settled from both the final battle and the news of who Hawkmoth and the Purple Lady/Mayura had been, most of Paris was happy to give all of the credit to Ladybug and Chat Noir, with a side bit of thanks to their temporary superhero teammates. But Lila had stepped forward several days before school started up again (after she had "returned" from her visit with Swedish royalty) to brag about how the Ladyblog post that she had inspired had been a major motivating factor in the superheroes deciding to take the Purple Lady down when they did, garnering a decent amount of media attention. It had been both insulting and annoying, and meant that now Ladybug and Chat Noir had to do a media release explaining exactly what had _really_ happened sooner rather than later unless they wanted to hear news outlets singing Lila's praises.

They had been planning on doing that anyway, of course, so that they could go out without reporters shouting questions at them, but both he and Ladybug had hoped to hold off on what was sure to be a long media appearance until _after_ they had finished all of the mentally grueling visits to the prison to see Nathalie and Mr. Agreste to try to purge all of the effects from the Heart curse from them. But now they had to move it up to be as soon as possible.

Even though he wasn't really listening, Adrien knew right away when Lila joined the conversation again, because Marinette's largely neutral expression had immediately turned annoyed. Adrien tuned in at once, just in time to hear Lila offer to help Alya and Nino (and, obviously Adrien and Marinette too, because she was _so_ nice) study for their Foreign Relations unit- if she had any time to spare, because getting details for getting a new charity project set up for widowed women in South Africa was _so_ much work, of course, and everything had to be just _perfect_ for the UN to add in their financial support, and of _course_ she was going to be missing school with her family's trip to Hollywood the following week, so that was just another strain on her schedule...

Adrien squeezed Marinette's shoulder as Alya and Rose immediately started offering their help, falling over themselves in their offers only for Lila to demurely turn them down, assuring them that if she had a less rushed deadline for her charity work in the future, she could teach them the ropes then but right now she didn't have the time to teach anyone. Alya and Rose nodded in understanding, eager as ever.

It was infuriating, but Lila's lies would come out soon enough, and then they would never have to see any of their friends manipulated by her again.

Only minutes later, the bus turned a corner and trundled towards the somewhat imposing building that made up the Italian embassy. Adrien's gaze slid over to Lila, who hadn't noticed where they were yet. She was still bragging about her supposed project when the bus pulled over and started slowing down, and it wasn't until the bus came to a full stop that she looked up, past Nino and Alya and towards their destination.

Adrien had the deep satisfaction of watching Lila's words slowly die mid-sentence as the blood drained from her face. Next to him, Marinette buried her face in his shoulder to muffle a snicker.

"We've arrived!" Madam Mendeleev announced, standing up. "Class, since we're doing a Foreign Relations unit at the moment, I thought that it would be prudent to start it off with a visit an embassy. This, of course, is the Italian Embassy."

There were gasps of delight as that sunk in, and then all eyes turned to Lila, who- well, she had recovered admirably, Adrien had to admit. She managed a small smile and faux-humble shrug before turning her attention back to Madam Mendeleev.

If Adrien looked closely, he could see the strain in her smile.

"I expect all of you to be on your best behavior," Madam Mendeleev continued, her voice sharp. "We're lucky enough to be getting a presentation from a couple embassy members. We'll be going into their largest conference room and waiting there for our first presenter to arrive. While you're waiting, I want you to come up with questions to ask. Do you understand?"

"Yes, Madam Mendeleev."

"Great. Ms. Bustier, if you could lead the way…?"

Adrien and Marinette were among the last of the students to get off the bus and head for the building, with Madam Mendeleev bringing up the rear. In front of them, they could already hear Lila telling their classmates in faux-disappointment that no, her mom hadn't said anything about doing a presentation for a field trip and it was no surprise either, she was _very_ busy with important meetings and coming up with international agreements and all that, _plus_ getting things set up for their upcoming trip, and they would probably just be meeting with some lesser officials, staff members for the ambassadors instead of the ambassadors themselves.

The smirk that flashed across Marinette's face at that was too attractive to be allowed, really. It _screamed_ confidence and absolute triumph.

It was _really_ a pity that she hid it so fast.

"On a scale of one to ten, how likely is it that we'll actually learn much anything today?" Marinette murmured in Adrien's ear, rolling up on her toes so that no one else would overhear. "I mean, if things start coming out…"

"I get the impression that we'll get a short presentation first before Mrs. Rossi shows up, so- well, still not much, but not _nothing_, either." Adrien couldn't see Madam Mendeleev planning a field trip like this _without_ planning for them to get at least a little bit of learning in. "I'm impressed that you-know-who is still keeping the act up. Lying until the end, I guess."

Marinette grinned and then started humming some ominous music under her breath, which just got Adrien snickering. In his pocket, he felt Plagg perk up and add in to the tune, quiet and slightly out of tune but loud enough for both him and Marinette to hear.

Adrien nearly choked on his laughter before struggling to put a straight face back on. After all, Madam Mendeleev expected them to be on their best behavior, and that probably didn't include bursting out into loud laughter in the middle of the embassy.

They went up a floor, and then were ushered into a large room with tiered rows of seats. Adrien's desire to sit close and get a great seat to see and hear the presentation warred with his want to actually be able to see Lila's downfall without craning his neck or being obvious about it, and it was only Marinette's tugging that made the decision for him. That, and the fact that Lila had settled herself fairly close to the front- two rows back, so she wouldn't be _quite_ front and center, but close enough that it wouldn't seem strange; it also allowed for the maximum number of people to cluster around her, which of _course_ was Lila's favorite thing- meant that they didn't have to sit _that_ far back to see her.

"So, questions," Marinette said, pulling out a notebook. She glanced over at Adrien, a small smile playing at the corners of her mouth. "Common misperceptions people have about the job? It might be a good way to prompt the, ah…"

"Oh, good thought." Adrien watched as she wrote that down. "Uh- okay, I'm coming up blank. Pretty much everything I can think of would get covered by that question."

Marinette made a face. "Yeah. And the thing is, that's _all_ I can come up with. And it's such a common question, honestly. I _know_ someone else is going to come up with that."

Adrien couldn't help the wry grin that slid onto his face. "Yeah, well, once it's asked, it's not like we're going to stay on topic long after that, are we?"

It wasn't long before the first presenter came in, welcoming the classes and giving them a quick history of the embassy and the relationship between France and Italy. In her seat, Lila was clearly relaxing, though Adrien couldn't help but notice that she was taking a lot of notes.

Clearly someone wasn't _nearly_ as familiar with things around the embassy as she pretended to be.

"And now it's time for our main presentation," their presenter finished, smiling at the group. "Someone that at least _one_ of you is familiar with- Ambassador Rossi!"

Next to him, Marinette muffled a snicker as Lila startled, eyes going wide and cheeks paling. Adrien ducked his own head to hide his amusement. Oh, it was _starting_.

Mrs. Rossi breezed into the room with a smile, surveying the students. Adrien hastily composed himself, just in time to see Mrs. Rossi glance from him to Lila with a confused look on her face. It was almost as though she expected him to be sitting next to her daughter or something.

…what had Lila done _this_ time?

"Good morning, everyone," Mrs. Rossi started after an awkward pause. "I'm an ambassador here at the Italian embassy. I just started here relatively recently, after previously working in Croatia and, prior to that, Belgium. I thought that I might start my presentation today by covering what ambassadors do and don't do, and common misperceptions about the job!"

Marinette crossed out her question, then shot an amused glance at Adrien. Her expression clearly read _oh, she's doing all the work for us!_ and honestly, Adrien couldn't agree more.

Across the room, Lila's expression was tightening and her eyes were flicking around, clearly already anticipating how this was going to go. She had surrounded herself, though, and was clearly trapped in the room. There was no easy path out, and she was going to have to watch everything fall apart around her.

….it was possible that Adrien was getting ahead of himself and seeing things that weren't there. _He_ would be feeling trapped right now if he were in Lila's shoes, but she was probably trying to come up with ways to steer the conversation so that all of her lies would just slip under the table unnoticed. It wouldn't work, of course- not with Madam Mendeleev already suspicious, the two of them there to poke the whole thing along, and a whole host of overly enthusiastic Lila fans- er, their classmates- there in the room, ready to gush over Lila's supposed adventures.

(Fans, classmates. Same thing, really.)

"An ambassador is a diplomat who represents a country- in my case, Italy- stationed in the capital of a foreign country, in order to represent their home country," Mrs. Rossi started, smiling at them. "The person selected for the job requires approval from both the home and foreign government before they get fully appointed. Once appointed, we undertake a number of duties."

Adrien nodded absently. They had already covered this in class yesterday, and he had paid attention then, knowing that they would be going to the embassy and the information would likely come up on a test later.

"For one, the embassy strives to help visitors from our country when they're traveling abroad," Mrs. Rossi continued. "Sometimes people run into trouble with their passport, or they have a brush with the law and need our help to sort things out. That's usually smaller stuff, not particularly difficult to do. Then there's the _big_ stuff- working to establish trade and peace between our countries. That's more fiddly work, and it's sometimes _very_ delicate. Everyone of course wants an agreement that favors their own country, and it's a fine line between holding your ground to get what you want for your country and giving enough so that negotiations don't break down. I'll talk more about that later, with some recent examples," Mrs. Rossi added. "I'm sure it sounds quite boring to you, but it is _very_ important."

Right behind Lila, Rose was pretty much wriggling in her seat, no doubt _dying_ to ask about the _other_ part of the diplomat's job, the part where they met famous people and made charities and- well, whatever else Lila had been telling them. Adrien felt a _little_ bad about how crushed she in particular would be- after all, Rose had _really_ been wanting to learn how to _actually_ get involved with charities and how to start her own, a selfless goal- but Marinette had _tried_ to tell her friends previously, she really had. They just hadn't _listened_.

"And as for misperceptions… well, there are a _lot_ of them," Mrs. Rossi told them with a little laugh. "One misperception is that we travel a lot. Obviously I live abroad, as does Lila, but once we move to a country, we generally stay there. With the exception of visits back home to visit extended family, of course."

Looks of confusion were starting to take over the section around Lila, who had gone stiff. Her hands were fisted on the desk.

"And- well, we're pretty normal people," Mrs. Rossi added with a laugh. "People think that we have a really glamorous job, but it's really not, at least not in the way people tend to imagine_. _We meet with other political figures, we meet with lost and panicked citizens of our own country, we meet with other diplomats."

There were more and more frowns all around. Lila had gone _really _pale now, her knuckles turning white under her skin.

"But you _do_ meet some famous people, right?" Rose wanted to know, raising her hand. "I mean, Lila has told us about all the people she's met! Jagged Stone and Ladybug and Mr. Spielberg and Prince Ali and-"

Mrs. Rossi frowned, her eyes going to her _very_ pale daughter. "I'm sorry, _what?_"

"And you were traveling for months right after Lila came to Paris, she was Skyping us from all over the world!"

"She told us that she was in talks with Prince Ali to work on a charity together!"

Lila looked like she wished that she could vanish. Her jaw had opened and closed a few times, but clearly she couldn't come up with anything to say.

Mrs. Rossi was looking thoroughly confused. "We- no, we've not left Paris for more than a weekend at a time. Lila, you told me that the school was closed due to ongoing akuma attacks!"

There were gasps all around the room. Ms. Bustier looked horrified. Jaws were hanging open. Adrien spotted Alya and Nino glancing back at him and Marinette, confusion and realization on their faces.

He had to wonder how soon any traces of Lila would vanish from the Ladyblog. He wouldn't be surprised if things would be cleaned up before they even left the embassy.

All around the room, people were blurting out things that Lila had told them, lie after lie after lie. Mrs. Rossi looked overwhelmed, and then her eyes narrowed at her daughter. The teachers rushed to the front of the room to try to get things under control, and Adrien exchanged a triumphant smile with Marinette.

Lila wasn't going to get away with her lies, not this time. And hopefully now that the truth was out, things would be able to go back to normal soon.

And after everything that they had had going on recently, they really _needed_ normal.

* * *

_Several weeks later_

Chat Noir brought up the tail end of the group of superheroes as they headed through the hallways of the prison, taking the now-familiar path back towards Nathalie's cell. The group had been cheerful earlier as they gathered near the jail, then as they headed to the jail for their eighth of who-knew-how-many-visits- Ladybug in particular still had a cheerful spring in her step after a particularly good day at school, and not even their upcoming task had been able to put a damper on that- but now that they were actually in the jail, a feeling of seriousness had fallen over the group, just as it had during their other visits.

Working on Nathalie's cure always required a fair bit of concentration, which was part of the reason why the mood was somber, but going past all of the other prisoners was never pleasant, either. Chat Noir didn't know about the others, of course, but he always found himself wondering what people were in for. He didn't want to _ask_\- he might be sheltered and a bit socially oblivious, but that just seemed like not the greatest idea in the world- but he wondered, all the same.

_The others _referred, of course, to the other superheroes- Ladybug, of course, plus Queen Bee and Paon. Then Jade Turtle was there instead of Carapace, and Kagami had been tapped to play the part of the Fox instead of Alya for these trips to the jail.

After all, the first of their visits to the jail had been before Lila's (rather spectacular) downfall and Marinette and Alya were still working on repairing their friendship even now, several weeks later. Ladybug had been irritated with Alya (and Nino) for their behavior towards the end of their time as superheroes, so of course it made sense to tap their _other_ bonus teammate to step into the Fox's boots.

(In Chat Noir's opinion, there was another reason why the change was a good thing. Kagami was a private person, one who wouldn't be tempted to tell anyone about what she saw in the prison. While he wanted to _believe_ that Alya would resist the urge to publish anything as a 'scoop', he- he couldn't be _positive_. And that sounded awful and felt awful to say, but he just _couldn't know_. Sometimes it seemed like Alya had lost her filter.)

The final member of their group was actually one of the prison's social workers, a woman who was a friend of his mom's. She had been given the Butterfly Miraculous for the duration of Mr. Agreste and Nathalie's treatments so that she could monitor their emotional moods and the changes as they went through the spells and potions that would reverse the effects of Heart and impartially report that to the courts as evidence for sentencing. Only a select few people knew about her identity, since she was keeping her Miraculous in between their visits and they didn't want anyone going after her to try to steal the power for themselves.

They had literally _just_ defeated Paris' supervillains a month ago, they didn't need to have another one pop up right away, _especially_ when they needed all of the upper Miraculous to cure Nathalie.

"Ms. Sancoeur has shown some improvement since you were last here," Mariposa told them once they had moved past the occupied cells and were passing some closed rooms. "She still has a way to go and she's been more disoriented, but there _is_ some emotion there now. Not much, mind, but it's better than the _void_ that was there before." She shuddered, a disturbed look on her face. "_Anything_ is."

Chat Noir could feel Plagg's answering shudder in his mind. Mariposa had told them before what it felt like to be near a heartless person with Nooroo's powers, and how _wrong_ it felt. She could tell when the emotions were fully returned again which, combined with Jade Turtle's spells, had helped them realize when Mr. Agreste was fully recovered.

As unnerving as it was to work with Nathalie… well, it had been _worse_ with his father, at least in Chat Noir's opinion. Watching him come fully back to himself- well, it hadn't taken long, since he hadn't done _anywhere_ near as much damage to himself as Nathalie had done to herself, but there was just some unsettling difference that Adrien wasn't _quite_ able to put his finger on. Mr. Agreste wasn't exactly _cuddly_ now- he never had been- but there was something there that had changed.

(He was still stiff and aloof, though. He had thanked the superheroes for their time and effort, only showing any real emotion to Paon because, well, he knew she was his wife. Adrien hadn't seen his father since the arrest so he didn't know how his father's treatment of _civilian_ him would change at all, and, well…would he really know? His father could put on an act and pretend to care more than he actually did.)

"It's good that she's improving," Paon said, a small smile on her face. "After seeing her those first few times… well, I was worried. Nathalie had _so_ much potential when I met her, and for all of that to be gone…"

"Heart is _very_ complicated to heal," Jade Turtle reminded all of them. "The damage isn't as straightforward as it is with Body, and Ladybug, Chat Noir, you remember how long that took to heal."

Ladybug made a slight face. "To be fair, part of that was that we were having trouble getting the potion ingredients that we needed for that final awakening spell. If we had had those earlier, that would have shaved off some time."

Jade Turtle smiled. "Very true." He glanced back at them. "I would expect that today, we would see a larger response. The potions have had _plenty_ of time to build up in Ms. Sancoeur's system, and we introduced a new one since our last visit. Mariposa, are the potions still going well?"

Mariposa nodded. "We're still slipping them in her food and drink. And we've been ensuring that even if she suspects that there's anything in there, she won't be able to get rid of the food in any way, not without us knowing."

"Good, good. Ah, and here we are!"

"Time for the fun part," Queen Bee said with a sigh. "Hopefully she won't try to attack us again."

There was a general murmur of agreement as Mariposa opened the cell door, glancing inside before leading the way in. Chat Noir followed Ladybug in, lining up with the others along the padded wall before glancing across the room to where Nathalie sat, expressionless as she regarded them from her place on her bench. She wasn't restrained this week, which was a good sign, and for the first time Chat Noir wasn't sensing malice hanging heavy in the air.

It was improvement, for sure. And hopefully after today, Nathalie would actually start having emotions again.

"All right, let's get set up," Jade Turtle told them. "Paon, if you could get the candles, and Queen Bee, you've done the herbs before-"

Queen Bee was already heading across the room. "On it."

Jade Turtle smiled at that. "Fantastic. Now, while the rest of us wait…"

* * *

Marinette was _very_ glad to get home after they finished up at the jail. She was _exhausted_, and she just wanted to flop on the couch and _rest_.

The spells- there had been more than usual, and they had repeated the spells more than they ever had before because Nathalie had just kept responding to them- had absolutely _drained_ the entire group, but they still had to head back to the center of the city, get Queen Bee and Kitsune back to their homes, retrieve their Miraculous, return them to Master Fu's massage parlor, and then finally- _finally!_\- return to the bakery. By the time they got back, the bakery had closed for the day and the elder Dupain-Chengs had already moved upstairs and gotten dinner ready, enough for them and Marinette and the two Agrestes.

It had become a tradition of theirs, ever since they told her parents that they were Ladybug and Chat Noir. Once they were done with their work at the jail, they would head back to her family's place and have dinner together. Then Mrs. Agreste would retire to the guest room, and Adrien would crash on Marinette's chaise lounge.

It was a good arrangement. The mansion's staff got a much-needed day off, Mrs. Agreste and Marinette's parents got to know each other better, they could actually talk about what they had done and seen and felt at the jail, and- well, it was just _comfortable_. It had taken a couple weeks for Mr. Dupain and Mrs. Cheng to fully become used to the idea of Marinette and Adrien being Ladybug and Chat Noir, but the dinners helped them get adjusted.

It helped, Marinette thought, to have Mrs. Agreste there. She was a permanent adult superhero, someone who could watch out for the two of them when they had to go do superhero business. She was also someone who could work alongside Marinette for her Guardian training, each of them having an area of focus so that they weren't overwhelmed by trying to learn everything before- well, in case anything happened to Master Fu.

Mrs. Agreste could focus on learning spells- she had an aptitude for them, after all- and Marinette could focus on potions, and then they could teach each other later on, when they had more time.

It was really, really great to not have the pressure of being the _singular_ person in Guardian training. On top of that, it was nice to have time to hang out with Mrs. Agreste and get to know her more while Adrien was at basketball or fencing or- well, any of his assorted activities. Alya had teased her about "getting to know the in-laws already" when Marinette had mentioned the amount of time that she had spent with Adrien's mom (though not what they were doing, of course) but Marinette didn't dare repeat that to anyone else.

Adrien would be fine with it, she was willing to bet. Her kitty was just as heads-over-heels for her as she was for him, and talk of the future wouldn't freak him out. Their parents, though, even though they all knew about them being Ladybug and Chat Noir now….

Well, it was better not to freak their parents out by getting too serious, too fast.

"You guys look happy," Mrs. Cheng commented as the three of them filed into the room. "Did you make a lot of progress today?"

"Yeah," Adrien said happily, tugging Marinette over to the couch so that they could sit and relax together. Healing spells took a lot out of them every time, and this time, they had done an extra round of spellwork. "Nathalie actually seemed _human_ again by the time we left. I mean, she still wasn't back to normal, but when I looked in her eyes there was actually _something_ there."

"Mariposa said that Nathalie doesn't feel entirely like an empty void anymore," Mrs. Agreste chimed in, settling down on the other couch. She held herself regally, but Marinette could tell that she was just as exhausted as she and Adrien were. "Which is progress. A few more sessions, and she'll be back to normal." She sighed, the exhaustion peeking through the cracks a bit more. "Well, _mentally_ back to- to whatever normal she had before she started using Heart. I'm not sure how that'll line up with what I remember for her."

Marinette made a face. She knew that it was hard for Mrs. Agreste to come back and find that so many things had changed while she was in a coma. Her husband was in jail, their family secretary and friend was _also_ in jail, her old friend Madam Tsurugi had backed away from doing the right thing by helping bring the terror on the city to the end because she was worried about her family's _reputation_… it had to be really, really rough.

All things considered, Marinette was really impressed at how well Mrs. Agreste seemed to be re-adjusting to being awake. She had been keeping her hours at part-time at _Gabriel_ to ease back into the work, but that was to be expected- things had changed during her absence and she was still recovering her strength, after all, _and_ she was working on rebuilding her personal life as well as starting up Guardian training in her free time. It was a lot even then, but Mrs. Agreste seemed to be handling it so far.

"That's great news!" Mrs. Cheng exclaimed. "I know how you've talked about how unnerving she was to be around before, so for her to feel _human_ again, that's a big step."

"It really is," Marinette agreed, smiling as Adrien flopped over into her lap, nestling his head down until he was comfortable. "Add that in with how good school was earlier, and today's been pretty great."

"Oh? What happened today at school?"

As Marinette told them, with Adrien chiming in every so often, she couldn't help but smile. It was _so _nice to be able to tell her parents _everything _about her day again, something that she hadn't been able to do for over a year. There were no more secrets coming between them, no misunderstandings and confusion just because she had to keep her double life secret. It was all out there, and they _understood_ everything that she had had going on.

If someone had told Marinette a few months ago that she would be sitting here now with Adrien as her boyfriend, with his mom recovered and his father and Nathalie in jail and with her parents knowing their secret- _and_ with Lila expelled from the school and Chloe actually making an effort to not be horrible anymore- she wouldn't have believed them. It sounded too far-fetched, too unbelievable, too good to be true. But it _was_ true. It had taken a _lot_ of work for them to get where they were and it hadn't been easy, but it was _definitely_ worth it.

She really _was_ the luckiest Ladybug of them all.

* * *

_a/n: And it's finally done! The evil (both supervillain and super-liar) is defeated, the relevant parents are in the loop, and former supervillains are on the mend._

_As always, comments make my day! :)_


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